Former Republican Gubernatorial Candidate to Face Trial in Jan. 6 Case

Ryan Kelley, Republication candidate for Governor, attends a Freedom Rally in support of First Amendment rights and to protest against Governor Gretchen Whitmer, outside the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan on May 15, 2021. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

By Associated Press

February 16, 2023

ALLENDALE—A judge set a July 31 trial date Wednesday for a former Republican candidate for Michigan governor who is charged with misdemeanors for his presence at the 2021 riot at the US Capitol.

Ryan Kelley’s case in Washington has been slowed down a few times to consider possible plea deals, among other reasons, but no deal has been reached.

Kelley, who supported then-President Donald Trump, is accused of disruptive conduct, injuring public property and entering restricted space without permission on Jan. 6, 2021.

Federal investigators said Kelley was recorded on video outside the US Capitol on the day of the insurrection, repeatedly waving to the crowd and directing them toward stairs leading into the building. He used his phone to “film the crowd assaulting and pushing past US Capitol police officers” and was in a crowd that climbed stairs to a Capitol entrance after causing police to retreat, the FBI said.

Kelley has said he was lawfully protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.

His arrest last summer suddenly improved his name recognition in a crowded field of Republican candidates for governor, but Kelley finished fourth in the GOP primary in August.