Courtesy
GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley.
The FBI arrested Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley on Thursday and raided his home in Allendale.
Kelley is accused in federal court documents of joining a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
He faces four misdemeanor counts of knowingly entering or remaining in restricting buildings or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against person or property in a restricted building or grounds, and willfully injuring or committing depredation against any property in the U.S.
Kelley, who sells real estate, was captured on numerous videos of climbing on scaffolding outside the U.S. Capitol building.
Here’s a video of Ryan Kelley just exercising his first amendment rights.
— Michigan Tea (@MichiganTea) February 5, 2021
Just kidding, he’s actually helping destroy federal property in this video. pic.twitter.com/NLto9C6pQO
The arrest is just the latest drama in the Republican primary for governor. Five candidates, including one-time front-runner James Craig, were removed from the ballot last month for filing fraudulent signatures.
Kelley is among the five remaining candidates facing off in the August primary election.
Kelley rose in popularity among the far right after organizing an armed protest against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions at the state Capitol in 2020.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes called out Kelley and the remaining candidates for spreading lies about widespread election fraud.
“Just days after their field was cut in half due to corruption and mass fraud, Republican gubernatorial candidates’ callous disregard for the principles of democracy was on full display again today as Ryan Kelley was taken into custody by the FBI following his participation in the January 6th insurrection,” Barnes said in a statement Thursday. “Tudor Dixon, Garrett Soldano, Kevin Rinke, and Ralph Rebandt have equally shouldered the same baseless lies about 2020 that spurred Ryan Kelley to storm the capital in search of war. Michiganders won’t forget the role they played in dismantling public trust in democracy.”
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