A Republican candidate for Michigan’s governorship who participated in last year’s Capitol riot has been arrested by the FBI on misdemeanor charges tied to the riot, potentially upending their campaign. Misdemeanor charges, no matter their status, can still result in jail-time.
The individual in question is Michigan real estate broker Ryan Kelley, and the whole thing went down on Thursday, which is the same day he was set to make an initial appearance in federal court in Grand Rapids. Kelley was arrested during a raid of his home — the use of a search warrant was confirmed by Detroit-area FBI spokeswoman and Special Agent Mara Schneider — although it’s not immediately clear what evidence may have been recovered when feds showed up.
Kelley was among five remaining Republican contenders for Michigan’s top government job after five other GOP candidates — including two particularly prominent ones — were disqualified in connection with the submission of mass amounts of apparently fraudulent signatures in association with them getting on the ballot. The candidates themselves do not appear to have been implicated in the fraudulent signature scheme. A company called Vanguard Field Strategies — singled out by disqualified candidate James Craig in an interview — confirmed 18 people identified by Michigan authorities as involved in the fraudulent signature scheme were involved with a subcontractor it brought on to assist with gathering signatures. The president at Vanguard declined to name that subcontractor but said his company hadn’t paid any of the individuals.
“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,” Michigan Democratic Party chair Lavora Barnes remarked. It’s not immediately clear whether Kelley went inside the Capitol, but in a video Michigan Dems circulated last year, he can be seen outside the building as the violence unfolded, shouting: “Come on, let’s go! This is it! This is — this is war, baby!” Kelley, despite his run for governor, has no experience in government besides a stint as an appointed member of a local planning commission in Michigan. In the 17 months and counting since the riot took place, over 800 individuals have been arrested in connection to the rampage including more than 250 who’ve been specifically accused of assaulting or impeding police in some form.
The first installment of a new round of public hearings of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot was set for Thursday, with witnesses including U.S. Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards — who was evidently the first officer to be injured during the Capitol violence — and documentary filmmaker Nick Quested, who with his team captured footage of what went on. Future witnesses for the public hearings may include Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who’s reportedly already been subpoenaed and is willing to comply. Raffensperger, of course, infamously resisted pressure from Trump to meddle with the outcome in Georgia of the election. He’s already testified (privately) as part of the criminal investigation in Georgia by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into Trump’s election subversion campaign.
Featured image: via Blink o’fanaye on Flickr, available under a Creative Commons license
