The FBI arrested Ryan Kelley, one of the leading Republican candidates for Michigan governor, at his home in Allendale on Thursday morning and charged him for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Following a raid and search of his home by the FBI, Kelley, one of the five remaining candidates vying to dethrone Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, was arrested on four misdemeanor charges stemming from the Jan. 6 events.
According to the criminal complaint, he’s accused of disruptive conduct, engaging in physical violence in a restricted area, willfully injuring federal government property, and knowingly entering a restricted space without lawful authority.
His arrest, confirmed by the US Attorney’s Office for DC who said that Kelley was set to appear in court later on Thursday, was allegedly based, as the FBI said and the supporting documents released by the attorney’s office show, on multiple tips of Kelley’s presence at the Capitol in the days following the riot the agency received.
Though no evidence was found that Kelley had entered the Capitol building, he was allegedly seen on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6.
The FBI alleged Kelley was outside the Capitol grounds for roughly two hours on Jan. 6 among the crowd that was attacking and pushing past Capitol Police officers as Congress was in the process of certifying the 2020 election results.
An FBI-filed affidavit says a video outside the Capitol captured Kelley climbing scaffolding set up for President Biden’s inauguration and repeatedly waving to the crowd, directing them toward stairs leading into the building.
An avid supporter of former President Trump, Kelley was also a leading voice against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions and organized a protest at the Michigan Capitol during the early months of the pandemic, inviting heavily armed militias to gather inside the statehouse.
He called that militia members law-abiding, lawful citizens that love the US, admitting that maybe there are a couple of bad apples among them.
Be the first to comment