FBI Arrests Republican Gubernatorial Candidate on Jan 6 Misdemeanor Charges

Republican Ryan Kelley arrested at his home.

QUICK FACTS:

• Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley was arrested at his home in Allendale, near Grand Rapids on Thursday.
• The Republican hopeful was arrested on misdemeanor charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, according to an FBI Detroit spokeswoman.
• Kelley is slated to appear on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan to face charges 17 months after the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riots.
• The affidavit states that the FBI reviewed multiple tips about Kelley’s participation in the U.S. Capitol events on Jan. 6 of last year.
• Included in reports were multiple photos and videos of a man believed to be Kelley amongst those gathered near the Northwestern Scaffolding on the Western side of the U.S. Capitol where he is accused of having rushed up the scaffolding and pushing past Capitol Police.

The most dangerous thing happening in America today is the full weaponization of the administrative state against the enemies of the Democratic Party. Nothing else comes close.

Break the FBI into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds. https://t.co/8HW0dQU7Pi

— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) June 9, 2022

ARREST DETAILS:

• Kelley is charged with: knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
• The Republican candidate is also being accused of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, all of which are misdemeanor offenses.
• “Covid-19 was made so that they can use the propaganda to control your minds so that you think, if you watch the media, that Joe Biden won this election. We’re not going to buy it,” Kelley said, according to the affidavit. “We’re going to stand and fight for America, for Donald Trump. We’re not going to let the Democrats steal this election.”

BACKGROUND:

• Kelly is the owner of a real estate firm, the co-founder of the American Patriot Council, and saw success holding rallies at the state capitol in Lansing and Grand Rapids protesting the statewide COVID-19 lockdowns and mandates.
• In Kelley’s campaign bio he noted that he exercised his Second Amendment rights and “guarded a Civil War Statue in his hometown of Allendale as it was threatened to be taken down by BLM and Antifa,” during the 2020 riots after George Floyd’s killing.