Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley was arrested Thursday on misdemeanor charges related to an alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021 invasion of the United States Capitol, according to the report. Department of Justice.
“Ryan Kelley, 40, of Allendale, Michigan, was arrested this morning on misdemeanor charges arising from the January 6, 2021 Capitol breach. He was arrested in Allendale. Mr. Kelley is due to make his first appearance this afternoon in the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan,” said Bill Miller, a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The FBI’s Detroit office confirmed Kelley’s arrest and said his home was searched Thursday morning.
“I can confirm that FBI agents from the Grand Rapids office executed an arrest warrant and search of Mr. Kelley in Allendale, Michigan. At this time, I cannot provide any information on the nature of the charges against Mr. Kelley, but additional information must be released,” Mara Schneider, a public affairs officer for the FBI’s Detroit office, said in a written statement.
THE CNN contacted Kelley’s election campaign.
In 2020, Kelley, a realtor, began leading demonstrations against Michigan’s Covid-19 lockdowns and prevention mandates, according to his website.
The gubernatorial candidate added that he “protected a Civil War statue in his hometown of Allendale” during protests in the summer of 2020.
Several Republicans are vying to take on Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer in what will be one of the most watched campaigns in the country this fall.
Kelley’s arrest brings a new twist to an already chaotic Republican primary race. The move comes after the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected efforts by two Republican gubernatorial candidates to have their names placed in the August primary election earlier this month.
The candidates, businessman Perry Johnson and financial adviser Michael Markey, have filed lawsuits after Michigan’s propaganda board stalled last month, putting in place a state election department ruling that five gubernatorial candidates will not had enough valid candidates to qualify for voting.
The candidacy issue has scrambled Michigan’s gubernatorial race just two months before the August primaries.
Source: CNN Brasil
