Doctor with apparent ties to Clovis faces DC charges

Suspect in Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to appear for hearing Monday

A doctor with apparent ties to Clovis is among those facing charges in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Kenneth Kelly, 58, made his first federal appearance in front of a federal judge April 21 after turning himself in. He faces charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

Prosecutors did not ask U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui to detain Kelly, who was released on his own recognizance.

His next hearing is set for Monday morning via Zoom before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

There is no specific information in the charging documents that identify Kelly as a doctor who served the Clovis area, but an online search of email addresses listed for Kelly in the charging documents leads to profiles describing Kelly as an internal medicine specialist in Clovis with affiliation to Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis and Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari.

In response to an inquiry from The News about Kelly, PRMC Administrator Jorge Cruz said, “Plains Regional Medical Center uses a vendor for some clinical services in our emergency department. This physician was an employee of that vendor, and the last date he worked was in March 2020.”

A representative for Presbyterian Healthcare Services declined to say whether Kelly, the former Clovis doctor, is the same person charged in the Capitol attack.

An email sent by The News to the address in the charging documents was not returned. According to court documents: The FBI National Threat Operations Center received a tip from a relative of Kelly alleging he broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6 and drove from his home in Florida to Washington, D.C., “knowing full well they were going to break in.” The informant did not believe Kelly participated in violent acts, and there is no allegation of such activity in the

charging documents.

Subsequent interviews resulted in screen captures of photos of Kelly in the Capitol building and text messages noting, “Inside White house via breaking in windows,” and, “Tree of liberty was watered today!”

Another screen capture showed a picture with the text, “Patriots stormed the White House, broke in while Senate” was debating Arizona’s presidential election results. “The(y) were hiding under their desks. Forced into recess. Patriots took back our capital today.”

A Jan. 21 review of closedcircuit television footage provided by U.S. Capitol Police showed a man resembling Kelly entering the Senate Wing Door about 3 p.m. Jan. 6.

A search warrant served on Google for a device associated with Kelly’s email address showed presence in the Capitol between 2:56 p.m. and 3:09 p.m. The Google account associated with the email address had a recovery phone number matching one provided to the FBI by the relative.