The Michigan GOP gubernatorial race is once again in chaos after a fringe candidate, who was leading at least one poll, was dragged out of his home by the FBI on Thursday and charged with participating in the Capitol riot.
Ryan Kelley, a 40-year-old real estate agent, was arrested on several misdemeanors after prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint that he joined the riot outside the Capitol, allegedly climbing on the building’s facade, removing coverings from structures, and actively encouraging other insurrectionists to storm the building.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Beast that Kelley, a former Allendale Township planning commissioner, was taken from his Allendale Township home at around 9:30 a.m. after agents from the FBI’s Grand Rapids office “executed an arrest and search warrant.”
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The Republican gubernatorial primary in Michigan had already been filled with drama before Kelley’s arrest. In the last month, two contenders in a once-wide race to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were disqualified after their candidacy petitions were rejected for having allegedly fake signatures. In May, at least one poll named Kelley the surprise frontrunner ahead of the four other candidates.
Kelley’s arrest also notably comes on the same day the House Committee investigating the riot begins its public hearings to lay out their findings from a nearly yearlong investigation.
And while a spokesperson for Kelley’s campaign declined The Daily Beast’s request for comment Thursday, a Facebook post on his campaign page simply said the words: “political prisoner.”
The Michigan Republican Party was also quick to make the arrest political, claiming “Democrats are weaponizing our justice system in an unprecedented way against their political opponents.” Party chairman Ron Weiser added that “law and order are the bedrock of our democracy, but justice is not served when it is driven by a political agenda. Families and children are now becoming victims of political theater meant to distract from the failures of Democrat policy. It’s shameful and must end.”
One of Kelley’s Republican gubernatorial opponents also suggested the arrest may be a conveniently timed political hit.
“I respect Ryan Kelley and have met him out on the trail. My hope is that the FBI is acting appropriately, because the timing here raises serious questions. Praying for him and his family,” Kevin Rinke tweeted.
Kelley’s allies quickly sprang into action on Thursday, organizing a protest outside the federal court in Michigan where Kelley made his initial court appearance. Kelley was released Thursday afternoon on personal recognizance bond and will have his next appearance on June 16.
Outside the courthouse, he was greeted by a throng of supporters holding American flags and offering hugs. He declined to speak with reporters apart from telling one local outlet, “God Bless America.”
Kelley has been the center of several controversies, including his alleged involvement in the riot and his clashes with Black Lives Matter protesters after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. Last June, the Michigan Democratic Party released footage appearing to show him moving toward the Capitol on Jan. 6 as he shouted: “Come on, let’s go! This is it! This is—this is war, baby!”
In an interview with MLive last March, however, Kelley insisted he never entered the Capitol building, and “never had the intention to and did not go inside, nor did I have an altercation with police officers.” He did, however, admit he went to D.C. to show his support for former President Donald Trump. At the time of the interview, he said he hadn’t been questioned by law enforcement about his participation.
“I think that event was definitely an energizing event, right?” Kelley said. “It will live on in history, absolutely. For a lot of different things.”
According to a criminal complaint obtained by The Daily Beast, the FBI received multiple tips about Kelley’s presence at the Capitol. One tipster provided photos of Kelly wearing “a black coat, a backwards black baseball cap with a rectangular U.S. flag emblem above the bill, and aviator sunglasses.”
Photos and videos from the riot also showed Kelley “gathered” near scaffolding at an entrance to the Capitol where he allegedly used his phone to “film the crowd assaulting and pushing past U.S. Capitol Police Officers,” the complaint says. In another photo, Kelly is allegedly seen recording the hordes of MAGA fans engaging with officers trying to stop the crowd from storming the building.
“At approximately 1:51 p.m., Kelley moved towards the side of the nearby stairs and began to climb onto an architectural feature next to those stairs,” the complaint says. “In this publicly available news media image, Kelley can be seen through the scaffolding on the stairs.”
Less than 10 minutes later, prosecutors allege, Kelley climbed onto an architectural feature near the stairs “and indicated by waving his hand that the crowd behind him should move towards the stairs leading into the U.S. Capitol building.”
Kelley then used his hands to support another rioter who was pulling a metal barricade onto the scaffolding, the complaint says, and he later pulled a covering off a temporary structure that had been erected for an upcoming event.
He then allegedly continued to encourage the mob, “consistently indicating that they should move towards the stairs that led to the entrance,” the complaint adds. Kelley kept taking photos of the unfolding chaos and then, at around 2:29 p.m., entered the Capitol’s northwest courtyard and used his thumb “to motion towards the doors to the interior of the U.S. Capitol Building.”
The complaint, notably, does not say Kelley entered the building, unlike the hundreds of other rioters who forced elected officials, including then-Vice President Mike Pence, into hiding. Prosecutors, however, noted that Kelley attended several events in the lead up to the riot that had the same goal of stopping the electoral certification of Joe Biden’s win, including a November 2020 “Stop the Steal” rally at the Michigan Capitol.
“During that event, Kelley indicated that those attending the rally should stand and fight, with the goal of preventing Democrats from stealing the election,” the complaint says, noting that Kelley also gave a speech at the event while wearing a name tag that said “Covid-19 was made so that they can use the propaganda to control your minds so that you think, if you watch the media, that Joe Biden won this election. We’re not going to buy it. We’re going to stand and fight for America, for Donald Trump. We’re not going to let the Democrats steal this election.”
Prosecutors also noted that a month after the riot, Kelley was interviewed by a local TV station and denied entering the building. Several people identified Kelley from videos and photos from the riot, including an Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office employee and an Allendale Township official. Kelley was interviewed by the FBI in July 2020, though the complaint does go into detail about it.
