GOP candidate for Michigan governor arrested in connection with Jan. 6 attack

Republican candidate for Michigan governor Ryan Kelley was arrested Thursday on misdemeanor charges for participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

Kelley, one of five candidates on the Aug. 2 Republican primary ballot, was arrested earlier Thursday in western Michigan. He is being charged on four counts — all misdemeanors — including entering a restricted space and engaging in any act of physical violence against a person or property.

Kelley is also charged with willingly injuring or committing depredation against any property of the United States. The FBI alleges Kelley can be seen in images ripping a cover off of scaffolding on the Capitol building during the riot.

Law enforcement received multiple tips regarding Kelley’s presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — when a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building to stop the electoral vote count certifying President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election. The FBI alleges Kelley appears in a number of publicly available images and videos from the riot, wearing aviator sunglasses and a black baseball cap worn backwards.

In images shown in the FBI’s statement of facts, the individual alleged to be Kelley can be seen among a crowd pushing past U.S. Capitol Police and climbing onto an architectural feature of the building. The individual that the bureau alleges is Kelley can also be seen continuously gesturing toward the crowd to move up onto the stairs leading to the entrance of the Capitol.

Kelley’s arrest comes just hours before the House Jan. 6 select committee is scheduled to hold its first prime-time hearing and release new evidence aimed at connecting the dots between Trump and the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. The gubernatorial candidate is also one of more than 800 people facing criminal charges in connection to the Jan. 6 attack.

Kelley is scheduled to appear at a court hearing in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday afternoon, according to the Department of Justice.