The US gubernatorial candidate has been arrested for his involvement in the Capitol attack.
(Photo: dpa)
new York When a rampaging mob took over the steps of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Ryan Kelley goaded the crowd: “Come on, let’s go! That’s it! This is—this is war, baby!” Witnesses say they later saw the Republican inside House in a black coat, aviator sunglasses and a black cap emblazoned with a rectangular US flag emblem.
Kelley is currently running for governor of Michigan and plans to be one of five candidates running against Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer in the fall.
But now the FBI has arrested Kelley at his home in Allendale and searched the building. Kelley faces multiple misdemeanor charges in connection with January 6, including the use of force against anyone or property and damaging federal property. According to media reports, a virtual hearing is planned for June 16. Kelley has been released on bail.
The House of Representatives investigative committee into the attack on the US Capitol is currently presenting its findings to the public. The panel chose prime time in the US on Thursday evening to allow the whole nation to participate. The committee has been working for months to come to terms with the events.
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The televised broadcast was just the beginning of a week-long presentation of the results: a mix of videos, assessments by lawmakers, testimonies from key witnesses such as the former president’s daughter Ivanka Trump.
“It was a war zone. (…) There were police officers lying on the ground. They bled, they vomited. (…) I slipped in people’s blood. It was carnage. It was chaos.” Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards
Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards also has a say. “It was a war zone,” she describes the day. “There were police officers on the ground. They bled, they threw up.” People staggered around them, falling to the ground. “I slipped in people’s blood. It was carnage. It was chaos.”
Trump supported the mob
The vice chair of the investigative committee, Republican Liz Cheney, also reported shockingly: When the demonstrators shouted “Hang Pence!”, then-President Donald Trump is said to have said of his vice president that he “deserved it”.
Cheney also shows Trump angrily yelling at advisers who are urging him to do more about the protesters. The politician is one of the few representatives of the Republican Party who to this day clearly condemns the attacks on the Capitol.
So far, only a few Republicans have taken a strong stance against the storming.
(Photo: Reuters)
Trump supporters had stormed the seat of parliament in Washington at the time. They wanted to prevent Democrat Joe Biden’s November 2020 election victory from being confirmed. The attack killed several people and injured dozens.
Cheney found clear words for this on Thursday evening: “Those who broke into our Capitol and fought the police for hours were motivated by what Trump told them: that the election was stolen and that he was the real president. Trump “refused for hours to do what his staff, family and many other advisers have begged him to do: immediately order his supporters to stop and evacuate the Capitol.”
>>Read here: Biden fears another attack on democracy
Trump himself has denied any responsibility. On his own social media, Truth, he insulted the committee as an “unelected committee of political crooks.” In connection with January 6, Trump speaks of the “biggest movement in the history of the country”.
For his supporters, the fact that the committee has worked for so many months and Trump is still a free man is proof that his opponents have nothing on him. In fact, it is not the committee that can bring possible charges against the ex-president. He can only provide the evidence on which others can base their charges.
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