(RepublicanPress.org) – In June 2022, law enforcement officials arrested former Republican gubernatorial candidate from Michigan, Ryan Kelley, for his part in the January 6 riots at the Capitol in Washington, DC. Prosecutors held video evidence showing the Republican politician waving to the crowd, encouraging them to move toward the US Capitol Building, and ripping a tarp on the scaffolding outside. Authorities charged him with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds and intending to impede or disrupt government business. Kelley pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge in July, and the court recently sentenced him.
On October 17, US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper sentenced the now-former politician to 60 days behind bars for entering a restricted area. Kelley also had to pay a $5,000 fine for his crime. Prosecutors requested a slightly harsher sentence of three months in prison.
A federal judge sentenced a former Republican candidate for Michigan governor to two months behind bars for his role in the Capitol riot. https://t.co/erY7gx1kiU
— WTOP (@WTOP) October 17, 2023
According to the Associated Press, he went to the rally in DC because he wanted to see evidence proving former President Donald Trump’s claims. He said, “Those receipts never came,” and he now believes he was “misled” into believing falsehoods. Still, he doesn’t blame the former president for his actions that day, stating he takes full responsibility for his behavior at the Capitol. Prosecutor Shanai Watson said the defendant made a “series of bad decisions that day.”
Defense Attorney Gary Springstead said his client understood he “never should have participated” in the events of January 6. According to the AP, Springstead told the judge at the sentencing hearing that Kelley was done with politics. Instead, the former candidate wants to spend time with his family and grow his business.
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