Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan D. Kelly was arrested Thursday on misdemeanor charges of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the Capitol, including a count of damaging federal property, the Justice Department announced.
A contender in the state’s crowded Aug. 8 primary, Kelley, 40, of Allendale, Mich., faces four counts punishable by up to a year in prison, including trespassing, disorderly conduct, committing an act of violence against a person or property on restricted grounds, and depredation of federal property, according to charging papers.
An attorney for Kelley could not immediately be reached for comment. Kelley was set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally J. Berens of Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for Washington, which is prosecuting Capitol breach cases. His home in Allendale, Mich., was searched by the FBI on Thursday morning.
Kelley is the latest of more than half dozen Republican officeholders, candidate, or local party leaders to be charged in the Capitol breach, with several pleading guilty or being convicted at trial. He was arrested as the House Select Committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 was preparing to hold its first prime-time televised hearings Thursday night.
Kelly, an Allendale Township planning commissioner, launched his run for governor after calling the Jan. 6 Capitol riot an “energizing event.” Scores of police officers were injured in the riot, which...
Fenland residents have been warned not to risk incorrectly claiming Council Tax Support following two recent prosecutions for false claims. Support and benefits are there to help vulnerable and low...