By The opinion
17 Oct 2023, 10:55 PM EDT
After more than two years of the riots that it generated in the Capitol, finally a judge This Tuesday, the former Republican candidate for governor of Michigan, Ryan Kelley, was sentenced to two months in prison and must also pay a fine of $5,000..
Ryan Kelley, who finished fourth in the primary of five Republican gubernatorial candidates last year, pleaded guilty in July to a misdemeanor for his role in the siege.
Before pleading guilty, Kelley He published on his social networks that the riots at the Capitol were “set up” by the FBI. Which caused his campaign to publish the words “political prisoner” on Facebook after his arrest in June 2022.
Christopher Cooper, US District Judge, He stressed to Kelley that he had misused his platform as a candidate for public office. by promoting lies about election fraud, including the baseless claim that January 6 was somehow part of an FBI plot.
“Many people voted for you. A lot of people followed you,” Cooper said before handing down his sentence.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol during the certification of the Electoral College votes.
Although Kelley, He was not charged with participating in violence, federal prosecutors said he helped break down scaffolding, agitated the crowd with his shouts and gestured for other rioters to approach the Capitol. and to the police officers guarding the building.
Faced with these accusations, Kelley pleaded guilty and admitted that he entered a restricted building, which warrants a maximum prison sentence of one year.
At the time, during his arrest of Kelley, he shook up what was already a complicated Republican primary for the governor’s race. Conservative commentator Tudor Dixon won the Republican primary but ultimately lost to incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, last November.
After hearing the sentence, Defense attorney Gary Springstead said Tuesday that Kelley “doesn’t want to have anything to do with politics right now, he wants to focus on his business and his family.”.
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