LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan candidate for governor, Ryan Kelley, has been charged with four misdemeanors related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol.
Kelley was arrested by the FBI Thursday at his home in Allendale in western Michigan and was released after his arraignment without having to post bond.
He answered "understood" to most of the judge's questions regarding his rights and responsibilities. The initial proceeding took place in a Grand Rapids federal courtroom, although the charges were filed in Washington D.C.
Documents say that Kelley was part of a crowd that tried to disrupt the certification of President Biden as the winner of the November 2020 election. The evidence includes photos and videos of the insurrection that were posted online.
Kelley is a Republican candidate for governor who will appear on the August statewide primary ballot. That's not the case for numerous other Republicans who were accused of submitting fraudulent signatures and were dropped from the ballot.
Thursday afternoon, a post appeared on Kelley's campaign Facebook page with just the words, "Political Prisoner."
The criminal complaint alleges that Kelley, among other things, knowingly entered and engaged in disorderly conduct in restricted buildings or grounds and engaged in an act of physical violence against a person or property.
