DETROIT — A federal judge Wednesday said former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley will stand trial July 31 in Washington on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol after prosecutors and Kelley failed to negotiate a plea deal.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper set the trial date after repeatedly giving both sides time to negotiate a potential plea deal in one of the more high-profile cases among the more than 948 people nationwide charged with Jan. 6 crimes. Kelley has called his arrest a "political witch hunt" and denied that he ever entered the Capitol building during the riot.
Kelley, who supported former President Donald Trump, is charged with misdemeanors. He’s accused of disruptive conduct, injuring public property and entering restricted space without permission on Jan. 6, 2021.
The misdemeanor criminal case accuses the 41-year-old real estate broker from Allendale of climbing onto portions of the Capitol, encouraging yelling, gesturing to participants and removing a covering from a temporary structure outside the Capitol.
Kelley repeatedly declined under oath to identify himself in videos from the riot, according to a transcript of his interview with investigators for a U.S. House committee.
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 with 15% of the vote.
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