WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The FBI arrested Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley on Thursday over misdemeanor charges stemming from his role in the Jan. 6. 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by throngs of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters, the Justice Department said.
Kelley, 40, of Allendale, is one of five Republicans in the state competing to take on Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this coming fall.
His arrest comes on the same day that the Democratic-led House Select Committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year will hold its first of several planned hearings to present the evidence it has amassed about the riot and the events leading up to it.
According to a sworn statement by an FBI agent, Kelley was captured on video standing in a crowd of people who were “assaulting and pushing past law enforcement officers” at the Capitol.
Other images also show that Kelley was climbing on an architectural feature near the northwest stairs of the building, the statement said.
Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley poses for a portrait as he joins supporters of former President Donald Trump gathering to demand for a forensic audit of the 2020 presidential election in front of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, Feb. 8, 2022.
