January 6 Rioter Convicted of Plotting Murder of FBI Agents
After a speedy three-day trial, a U.S. federal court jury found a Tennessee man guilty of plotting to murder FBI employees who were investigating the man’s involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on 6 January 2021.
While on pre-trial release for his actions at the U.S. Capitol Building, Edward Kelley, 35, created a plan to murder federal employees, including FBI agents and staff, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Evidence presented at trial included a kill list that Kelley created, specifically targeting members of law enforcement who were involved in investigating his actions on 6 January 2021.
Kelley shared the list with a co-conspirator, Austin Carter, as the two men gathered more people, forming a group that began to prepare to attack the FBI and its agents, according to court documents. Carter later shared the list with another member of the group, Christopher Roddy. At this point, Roddy alerted law enforcement about the conspiracy and helped collect evidence against Kelley.
Carter—who later cooperated with law enforcement and pled guilty to his involvement in the conspiracy—testified that part of the plan included an attack on an FBI field office in Knoxville, Tennessee. The attack would have involved car bombs and incendiary devices delivered via drones. Kelley and Carter also considered murdering federal agents either in public places, like a movie theater, or in their homes.
A sentencing hearing for this case has been scheduled for 7 May 2025. Kelley faces a maximum penalty of a life sentence in federal prison. (United States of America v. Edward Kelley, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, No. 22-cr-00118, 2024)
Just a few days before being convicted of plotting the murder of FBI personnel, Kelly was also convicted in a bench trial of three felonies and eight misdemeanor charges for his actions during the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The felony convictions included civil disorder, destruction of government property worth more than $1,000, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement. The misdemeanor offenses Kelley was guilty of included entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, entering and remaining in the Gallery of Congress, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, destruction of government property worth less than $1,000, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
The evidence presented during the trial included the use of open-source images and video footage during the riot to identify Kelley, according to the DOJ.
Kelley, who was arrested on 5 May 2022, will be sentenced for this conviction on 7 April 2025. (United States of America v. Edward Kelley, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 22-cr-00408, 2024)
