LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Republican candidate for Michigan Governor Ryan Kelley has pleaded not guilty for his actions during the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Kelley, who pleaded not guilty on Thursday, July 7, said that he and other supporters of then-President Donald Trump were exercising their free speech rights.
The 40-year-old real estate broker and previous Allendale Township planning commissioner was arrested on June 9 on misdemeanor charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, knowingly engaging in any act of physical violence against person or property in any restricted grounds or buildings and destruction of government property.
Federal investigators say Kelley was recorded on video outside the U.S. Capitol on the day of the insurrection, repeatedly waving to the crowd and directing them toward stairs leading into the building, and using his phone to gather images of the crowd assaulting and pushing past U.S. Capitol police officers before joining a crowd that climbed stairs to a Capitol entrance after causing police to retreat.
However, June polls showed Kelley among the front-runners in the primary race, with between 13% and 17% of those surveyed saying they would vote for him.
He decided to run for governor after leading protests against the restrictions Governor Gretchen Whitmer imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, which included a rally at the Michigan Statehouse in Lansing, where heavily armed militias entered the building.
