Edward Kelley, a US military veteran previously pardoned by Donald Trump for his role in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol, has been sentenced to life in prison for plotting to attack an FBI office and assassinate law enforcement officers.
Kelley, 36, was found guilty last November of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and influencing a federal official by threat. He was one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol on 6 January 2021, according to justice department documents.
After the Capitol riot, Kelley planned to attack the FBI office in Knoxville, Tennessee, using car bombs and explosives attached to drones. He also developed a “kill list” of law enforcement officers he wanted to assassinate. A judge ruled that Trump’s pardon did not apply to this case.
Austin Carter, who plotted with Kelley in 2022 to assassinate FBI employees, pleaded guilty and testified against Kelley. Prosecutors recommended a life sentence, describing Kelley as remorseless. Kelley had served in the US Marine Corps for eight years and was discharged in 2015.
On his first day back in office in January, Trump issued pardons and commutations for nearly 1,500 people convicted of storming the Capitol. Another January 6 defendant was recently revealed to be working within the justice department as an adviser to Ed Martin, leader of the Trump administration’s “weaponization working group”.
