Politeness
GOP governor candidate Ryan Kelley.
The FBI arrested Republican governor candidate Ryan Kelley on Thursday and raided his home in Allendale.
Kelley is accused in federal court documents of being part of a gang that stormed the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
He faces four offenses of knowingly entering or staying in prohibited buildings or areas without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or premises, knowingly participating in an act of physical assault against persons or property in a restricted building or property, and intentionally injuring or looting property in the U.S
Kelley, who sells real estate, was captured on numerous videos of climbing scaffolding outside the US Capitol building.
Here’s a video of Ryan Kelley just exercising his first amendment rights.
Just kidding, in this video he actually helps destroy federal property. pic.twitter.com/NLto9C6pQO
— Michigan Tea (@MichiganTea) February 5, 2021
The arrest is just the latest drama in the Republican primary for governor. Five candidates, including former front-runner James Craig, were removed from the ballot last month for submitting fraudulent signatures.
Kelley is one of five remaining candidates to face each other in the August primary.
Kelley rose in popularity among the far right after staging an armed protest against Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions at the state capitol in 2020.
Lavora Barnes, chairman of the Democratic Party of Michigan, called on Kelley and the other candidates for spreading lies about widespread electoral fraud.
“Just days after their field was cut in half due to corruption and mass fraud, Republican gubernatorial candidates’ heartless disregard for the principles of democracy was on full display today when Ryan Kelley was taken into custody by the FBI after his participation in the January Sixth uprising,” Barnes said in a statement Thursday. “Tudor Dixon, Garrett Soldano, Kevin Rinke and Ralph Rebandt all over 2020 borne the same baseless lies that spurred Ryan Kelley to storm the capital in search of war. Michiganders will not forget the role they played in dismantling public trust in democracy.”
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