FBI arrests Michigan gubernatorial candidate on charges of involvement in January 6 riot

Ryan Kelley, 40, of Allendale, Michigan, was arrested this morning on a felony charge resulting from the Capitol violation on January 6, 2021. He was arrested in Allendale. Mr. Kelley will appear in U.S. District Court for the first time this afternoon for the Western District of Michigan,” said Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia.

The FBI field office in Detroit confirmed Kelley’s arrest and said his home was searched Thursday morning.

“I can confirm that FBI agents from the Grand Rapids office have executed an arrest and search warrant at Mr. Kelley’s home in Allendale, MI. Kelley, although I’m following additional information,” Mara Schneider, a public affairs officer with the FBI’s Detroit office, said in a written statement.

DailyExpertNews has contacted Kelley’s campaign.

In 2020, Kelley, a real estate agent, began leading demonstrations against Covid lockdowns and mandates in Michigan, according to his website. He said he was leading demonstrations against the Covid restrictions in the state capital of Lansing and in Grand Rapids.

The governor’s candidate added that he was “guarding a Civil War statue in his hometown of Allendale” during protests in the summer of 2020.

A crowded field of Republicans are jockeying to take on Democratic administration Gretchen Whitmer in what will be one of the country’s most closely monitored campaigns this fall.

Kelley’s arrest adds another twist to an already chaotic Republican primary fight. It comes after the Michigan court of appeals earlier this month rejected attempts by two Republican candidates for governor to have their names put in the August primary.

The candidates, businessman Perry Johnson and financial adviser Michael Markey, filed lawsuits after Michigan’s Commission of Inquiry was held up last month, overturning a state election agency decision that five governor candidates did not have enough valid signatures to qualify for the vote. remained in place.

The unanimous court decisions were a major blow to the candidates involved, including former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who has launched legal proceedings to revive their campaigns. Kelley was not among the candidates affected by the signature problem.

The signature issue had distorted the Michigan governorship race just two months before the August primary.

This story has been updated with additional information.

DailyExpertNews’s Sara Murray and Rachel Janfaza contributed to this report.