Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence a Jan. 6 rioter to a lifetime behind bars—despite President Donald Trump pardoning his crimes at the U.S. Capitol.
Edward Kelley, a 35-year-old East Tennessee native, was convicted in November of conspiring to murder FBI agents and other officials who investigated his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
Kelley was separately convicted of throwing a Capitol cop to the ground, with the help of others, and smashing a window with a piece of wood. However, those charges were wiped away by the president’s sweeping pardon of so-called “Jan. 6ers” in January.
Kelley has contested that Trump’s pardon of his Capitol crimes should also apply to his conviction for plotting to kill FBI agents and local law enforcement in Tennessee.
The Department of Justice disagrees. In a sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday, and first reported by Politico, they asked a judge to send Kelley to prison for the rest of his life.
“Kelley created a list of specific people he intended to assassinate, including agents, officers, and employees of the FBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Maryville Police Department, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, and Clinton Police Department,” the memorandum read. “To effectuate his plan, Kelley sought the assistance of others to identify his victims’ pattern of life and to murder them at their offices, homes, and in public places.”
Part of his alleged plan was to attack his local FBI office in Knoxville by using “improvised explosive devices attached to vehicles and drones.”
Prosecutors wrote that Kelley should receive such a harsh sentence because he has shown no remorse for his crimes.
“Kelley is remorseless and has shown neither a capacity nor desire to rehabilitate,” prosecutors wrote. “On the contrary, Kelley not only believes the actions for which he was convicted were justified but that his duty as a self-styled ‘patriot’ compelled him to target East Tennessee law enforcement for assassination.”
Kelley’s interactions with the press suggest he does not regret his actions at the U.S. Capitol.
“I don’t feel bad for what I did,” he told 10 News in April. “I was fighting for my country that day. I mean, the election was obviously rigged. If someone doesn’t believe that it’s rigged, then they either need to get informed or pull their head out of the sand.”
Kelley told the news station that FBI agents and witnesses lied about him during his trial. He said he wrote a letter to appeal directly to President Donald Trump, but, as of April, he had not received a response.
“[I want] to let him know my situation and that he needs to intervene because the Eastern District of Tennessee is just absolutely dedicated to crushing me,” he told 10 News.
Kelley’s sentencing is scheduled for July 2.
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