Ex-GOP governor hopeful Ryan Kelley gets two months in prison for Jan. 6 involvement
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Ryan Kelley, who sought the Republican nod in Michigan's gubernatorial primary last year, was sentenced to 60 days in federal prison by a judge in Washington, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. Kelley pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal misdemeanor charge for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, when supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
In addition to the 60-day prison stint, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also levied a $5,000 fine against Kelley, per the Associated Press. Kelley, a real estate agent and conservative activist, finished fourth in the Republican primary in the Michigan gubernatorial race last year, losing out to eventual nominee Tudor Dixon.
The government had previously levied four misdemeanor charges against Kelley, to which he initially pleaded not guilty. But he avoided a trial after pleading guilty in July to a single charge of entering or remaining on restricted grounds without lawful authority. That charge, also a misdemeanor, carried a maximum sentence of up to a year in prison.
Federal prosecutors initially argued that Kelley should get three months in prison for the charge, describing the Jan. 6 riot as an assault on the democratic process and noting that Kelley failed to show remorse for his actions. In their pre-sentencing memorandum, prosecutors pointed to past posts on social media from Kelley where he wrote he was “doing the right thing” being at the Capitol that day.
“(T)he January 6 riot was a violent attack that threatened the lives of legislators and their staff, interrupted the certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote count, did irrevocable harm to our nation’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power, caused more than $2.9 million in losses, and injured more than one hundred police officers. Every rioter, whether or not they personally engaged in violence or personally threatened violence, contributed to this harm,” prosecutors wrote.
Gary Springstead, Kelley's attorney, wrote that he should avoid prison time altogether, particularly since there was no evidence that he entered the Capitol building during the riot. Springstead also noted that Kelley, 42, has six children.
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“Ignoring that Mr. Kelley did not engage in violence on January 6, 2021 would fail to take into account a critical fact that Mr. Kelley’s refusal to engage in violence distinguishes him from those who had neither the sense nor the will to refrain from doing so,” Springstead wrote.
During his sentencing, Kelley again noted he was in Washington to see Trump speak, but said "my actions were my actions," according to the Associated Press. On Jan. 6, 2021, supporters of Trump stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory. The vote was eventually certified, and in the years since the riot, more than 1,000 individuals have been criminally charged for their participation in the siege, according to the Department of Justice. Kelley is one of approximately 935 individuals to have been charged with entering or remaining on restricted grounds, the DOJ says.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-governor candidate Kelley sentenced to 60 days in prison for Jan. 6 charge
