WASHINGTON — A Donald Trump supporter, according to federal law enforcement He planned to kill FBI special agents appears armed with a gun when he is the fourth rioter to arraign him on charges on January 6. He breached the US Capitolfederal prosecutors said in court proceedings Tuesday.
Edward Kelly of Tennessee is among several of the January 6 suspects still in pretrial detention, meaning they have not yet been charged with a crime. Kelley was initially released pending a trial on the charges on January 6, but that was then In December 2022, he was arrested again in an alleged murder plot.
He and co-defendant Austin Carter conspired “Killing FBI agents“In December 2022, months after Kelly’s arrest on the January 6 charges, Carter admitted that he had confessed. Kelly will be arraigned in federal court in Tennessee on November 18, with a pretrial conference next week, November 7- place too.
This week, Kelley was in federal court in Washington series of charges in connection with the initial conduct of January 6: civil disturbance; obstructing official proceedings; assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers; destruction of state property; and various crimes.
His defense team did not present any witnesses during the trial, and Kelly himself declined to testify.
Kelley is an anti-abortion activist, and according to the FBI, she was wearing a TCAPP sweater that spelled out “The Church At Planned Parenthood” when she stormed the Capitol.
On Tuesday, prosecutors presented evidence that Kelly may have been armed on Jan. 6. If true, he wouldn’t be alone. Conservative media figures and Trump himself falsely said the crowd was unarmed. In fact, a few were rioters armed with weaponsContributing to the prison terms, including two rioters who speared a crowd that breached a police line near the top of the steps on the west side of the Capitol. Another pro-Trump protester, identified by NBC News as John Emanuel Banuelos, was seen firing a gun in the air outside the Capitol earlier that day. He was accused Having done this this year, he ordered a preliminary hearing.
The gun claim is not the basis of the charges against Kelly, but prosecutors have presented strong evidence that Kelly was wearing a holster with an interior belt designed to hide a gun in at least one person’s pants.
FBI Special Agent Jessi Mann demonstrated how a gun holster works during testimony Tuesday, using a stun gun to demonstrate how the gun’s barrel can be hidden inside pants and the gun’s handle can be covered by a shirt. Kelley was dressed. Although prosecutors did not provide a clear photo of the handle of the gun sliding out from under Kelly’s shirt, Mann testified that the gun’s “print,” meaning the outline of the gun, can be seen in photos of Kelly during the attack. Mann said the clip in the holster can be seen in photos holding Kelly’s belt.
Prosecutors also provided an accurate photo of the ammunition Kelly appears to have holstered on his left hip, and Mann observed in his testimony that Kelly is right-handed: that’s how he signed documents and wore his gun there. he said.
Mann also testified Tuesday that Kelly had purchased ammunition boxes and gas masks in the days leading up to the attack, and that the FBI seized clothing similar to the one he wore on Jan. 6 at his residence during a search. Online, Kelley used an encrypted email with the handle “chaos_continues” to make some of his purchases, Mann testified.
Prosecutors A number of witnesses presented at the bench trial before US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. They are included Capitol Police Eugene GoodmanA black man is chased up the stairs near the Senate chamber by a mostly white crowd of members carrying Confederate flags on Jan. 6.
Kelly was at the front of the crowd and was seen pointing at Goodman before the crowd headed up the stairs, but prosecutors said it was difficult to determine what, if anything, Kelly said to Goodman because of the respirator he was wearing. After entering the Senate chamber, Mann testified, he took at least two selfies moments before, looking at the chair where Vice President Mike Pence sat and the table where the Electoral College ballots were kept. security.
During the attack, Kelly urged his wife to download Signal, an encrypted app, when he asked how things were going in Washington and Trump said he didn’t believe in “fake news,” prosecutors said.
A month after the attack, Mann testified, he discussed a story in Time magazine titled “.The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election” with family members and even printed a copy of the story and hung it on the refrigerator.
“The rioters came to Congress and they’re not going to stop until they get the ballots,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Holway told the judge during closing arguments Tuesday, adding that someone must be held accountable for desecrating the Capitol. For the first time since the English redcoats In 1814 he didDuring the War of 1812.
More than 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and prosecutors have secured more than 1,100 convictions. More than 600 defendants were sentenced to terms ranging from a few days behind bars to 22 years in federal prison.