LANSING, Mich. – Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley pleaded not guilty Thursday morning before a federal District of Columbia judge to charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.
Kelley, who appeared via video, said little during the estimated 6-minute arraignment hearing, but during a Wednesday debate he said those at the Capitol were unhappy with the 2020 presidential election when then-President Donald Trump lost to now-President Joe Biden.
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“Jan. 6, 2021, back when gas was under $2 a gallon, those were good times,” Kelley said during the debate. “… Yes, I was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. Yes, the FBI did raid my house in front of my wife, in front of my children and put on this big theater show for misdemeanor charges. …
“That was a First Amendment activity by a majority of those people, myself included,” Kelley said during the debate. “We were there protesting the government because we don’t like the results of the 2020 election, the process of how it happened. And we have that First Amendment right. And that’s what 99% of the people were there for that day.”
The rioters that day hoped to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s win, and the Jan. 6 Select Committee began its hearings on July 9 – the same day Kelley was arrested.
Kelley, who returns to court Sept. 22, maintains that he did not enter the Capitol, but the government has charged him with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; knowingly engaging in any act of physical violence against person or property in any restricted building or grounds; and willfully injuring or committing any depredation against any property of the United States.
FBI agents took Kelley into custody July 9 when they executed a search warrant at his home.
An FBI agent’s affidavit describes Kelley as an active participant in the riot, noting that he is seen on video “wearing a black hat and a black coat … in a crowd of people who are assaulting and pushing past law enforcement officers.”
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Around 1:51 p.m. that day, Kelley is seen moving to stairs and climbing onto an architectural feature as well as scaffolding, the affidavit noted.
Atop the architectural feature, Kelley is alleged to have waved his hand, indicating to the crowd behind him to move toward the stairs leading into the Capitol building.
The FBI affidavit also notes that a person believed to be Kelley is seen in the Capitol courtyard and moving toward the entrance, but it does not reference video evidence of Kelley inside the Capitol.
Kelley was an unknown in an initial field of 10 prospective candidates seeking to oust Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Five of those candidates, including the presumed leader, retired Detroit Police Chief James Craig, were disqualified when election officials found 68,000 fraudulent petition signatures across the candidates’ petitions.
Kelley believes his arrest and the subsequent publicity raised his name recognition and garnered him additional supporters.
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