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The FBI federal police service raided the home of a Republican candidate for governor of Michigan on Thursday morning.
According to local news outlet Wood TV 8, Kelley was a participant in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol by supporters of then-US President Donald Trump and has connections to right-wing militia groups. He was charged with a misdemeanor for his role in the riot.
An FBI spokesperson told Bridge Michigan that on Thursday morning, the bureau had executed both a search warrant and an arrest warrant at Kelley’s home in Allendale, west of Grand Rapids.
Kelley has been seen in photos outside the US Capitol from that day, although according to WWMT-TV, it was unclear if he actually entered the building, which would net him a much more serious charge. Kelley has said he did not enter the Capitol.
However, in those photos, he was also seen with William Null, one of several men charged in connection with an alleged plot to kidnap and kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in October 2020. Figures close to Kelley have claimed they two met had met, but did not know each other.
The attack on the national legislature came at the culmination of Trump’s campaign to reverse the results of the 2020 US presidential election, which he claimed he only lost to Democratic rival Joe Biden due to voter fraud. Congress was temporarily dispersed, but the rioters failed in their bid to capture lawmakers or the election results, and police and soldiers soon cleared the building of rioters. Five people died in the attack.
In the aftermath, Washington, DC, was garrisoned by thousands of troops for months, and the US Department of Justice has vigorously prosecuted hundreds of participants in the attack. A panel investigating the preparations for the riot and the protest that immediately preceded it is set to soon present its findings to the public.
A real estate agent, Kelley became known in 2020 for protesting the removal of a Confederate statue and organizing a protest against COVID-19 safety policies at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, demanding the arrest of Whitmer.
