Michigan governor candidate arrested

GOP contender is accused of violence, damaging property

Ryan Kelley, a Republican running for governor in Michigan who was at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack in 2021, was arrested at his home in Allendale, Michigan, on Thursday morning, according to Mara R. Schneider, a special agent with the FBI.

Kelley is the first person running for election in a major state or federal race to be charged in connection with the attack.

According to a criminal complaint, Kelley was charged with committing violence against a person or property on restricted grounds, damaging federal property, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building or grounds without permission. All four charges are misdemeanors, according to Bill Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia.

An FBI agent described Kelley’s actions in a filing to the court, saying at one point that Kelley appeared to use his phone “to film the crowd assaulting and pushing past U.S. Capitol police officers.” The filing also said that Kelley used “his hands to support another rioter” who was pulling down a metal barricade, and that he gestured “to the crowd, consistently indicating” that it should continue moving toward the entrance to the Capitol.

Kelley was able to be identified, in part, because what he wore on Jan. 6 was similar to the outfit he wore at the American Patriot Council “Judgement Day” rally in Lansing, Michigan, in May 2020, according to the filing.

Efforts to reach Kelley and his campaign were unsuccessful. The mailbox for the telephone number listed for the campaign was full and could not accept messages.

A man who answered the telephone listed for the campaign treasurer said, “No comment, thank you” when reached by a reporter.

On Wednesday afternoon, a message was posted on a Facebook page for Kelley’s campaign that said “Political Prisoner” — echoing how many on the right have referred to those taken into custody in connection with the Jan. 6 attack.

Kelley was released after making a brief appearance alongside his lawyer in a federal courtroom in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was not required to post bail, Miller confirmed. His next scheduled court appearance will be a virtual hearing June 16.

After exiting the courthouse, he thanked the well-wishers who had gathered to greet him. “You guys are awesome,” he said.

He was arrested on the same day that the House committee investigating the attack was set to open a landmark series of public hearings.