Washington A supporter of Donald Trump who was one of the first rioters to enter the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was found guilty of planning to murder FBI special agents who were looking into his crimes there.
Edward Kelley was found guilty on Wednesday of three additional charges: conspiracy to murder U.S. employees; solicitation to commit a crime of violence; and influencing or retaliating against federal officials by threat. Kelley was previously convicted this month of assaulting law enforcement officers and other offenses during the Capitol attack.
The trial for the murder plan began Monday in Knoxville, Tennessee. After only an hour of deliberation, the jury found Kelley guilty on all three counts, according to Knoxville’s NBC News station WBIR. One month after being sentenced in his Capitol case on April 7, Kelley will be sentenced in the murder plot case on May 7.
Co-defendant Austin Carter, who entered a guilty plea in November 2023, testified at Kelley’s trial in Knoxville. In December 2022, months after Kelley’s arrest on Jan. 6 charges, Carter informed officials that he and Kelley had conspired to kill Federal Bureau of Investigation employees. Prosecutors claimed that Kelley gave them a list of roughly 37 law enforcement personnel who worked on his case on January 6.
Carter told jurors that Kelley believed the nation was on the verge of civil war and wanted to strike first. He first intended to attack the FBI Knoxville field office before deciding to target specific FBI personnel who had worked on his Jan. 6 case, according to WBIR.
Three FBI special agents testified throughout the trial that they perceived the list as a threat, as did Christopher Roddy, who had worked with Kelley in security and had tipped off the FBI.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Kelley created a “kill list” of FBI special agents and other investigators who looked into his behavior. He was also caught on tape discussing creating a “course of action” for their “mission,” instructing them to “start it,” “attack,” and “take out their office” if he was arrested again, according to the Justice Department.
According to DOJ, Kelley stated on the recording, “Every hit has to hurt.” “Every blow must be painful.
When he became the fourth rioter to break into the U.S. Capitol, anti-abortion activist Kelley was wearing a sweater that read TCAPP, which stands for The Church At Planned Parenthood. The government said that Kelley had been carrying a firearm when he stormed the Capitol during his trial in Washington on the counts from January 6. Despite demonstrating that Kelley had a concealed pistol holster on the inside of his jeans and what they thought was the “printing” of a gun, the prosecution did not provide concrete evidence to support this claim, nor was it a major part of their case.
Prosecutors claimed that Kelley’s wife messaged him to inquire about his well-being during the Jan. 6 attack, stating that she didn’t trust the “fake news.” According to the prosecution, Kelley urged his wife to download the encrypted communications software Signal.
Threats against FBI personnel are “reprehensible and dangerous and would not be tolerated by the bureau,” according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“While awaiting trial for committing violent acts, Edward Kelley planned and conspired to attack our employees at work and at home for carrying out their duties,” Wray stated in a statement. “The FBI will never tolerate violent threats against our workforce or any of our colleagues in law enforcement and will continue our work to ensure they are held accountable.”
More than 1,100 Jan. 6 participants have been found guilty by federal prosecutors, and more than 1,500 suspects have been arrested in relation to the Capitol attack. According to NBC News, online detectives have identified over 70 rioters on the FBI’s Capitol Violence website, but they have not yet been taken into custody.
Prior to Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, when he is anticipated to start pardoning an unknown percentage of the Jan. 6 rioters he has referred to as “warriors,” “unbelievable patriots,” political prisoners, and hostages, the Justice Department is anticipated to concentrate on apprehending the “most egregious” rioters. Last week, NBC News was informed by the Trump-Vance transition team that pardons would be granted “a case-by-case basis.”
Note: Thank you for visiting our website! We strive to keep you informed with the latest updates based on expected timelines, although please note that we are not affiliated with any official bodies. Our team is committed to ensuring accuracy and transparency in our reporting, verifying all information before publication. We aim to bring you reliable news, and if you have any questions or concerns about our content, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!