A former Michigan gubernatorial candidate will plead guilty next month to misdemeanor charges in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, The Detroit Free Press reports.
Ryan Kelley will plead guilty to one charge of entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, according to the report, which cites the conservative activist’s attorney, Gary Springstead.
An order filed Thursday on Kelley’s court docket said the court "hereby vacates the trial in this case," the report said, noting a plea agreement hearing was scheduled July 27.
A federal judge earlier this year scheduled Kelley’s trial to start July 31.
Kelley was initially facing four charges in connection with the insurrection, according to the report.
In addition to the misdemeanor charge to which he is pleading guilty, Kelley was also charged with disorderly and disruptive conduct, knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against a person or property, and willfully injuring property, according to the report, which cites the criminal complaint.
He initially pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
"Nobody is even alleging that he went inside the Capitol, this is simply for being on the Capitol steps," Springstead told The Free Press in a telephone interview.
"And there's no allegation that he engaged in any violence, or even the threat of violence. (It's) really tantamount to a trespassing charge."
Kelly was arrested in a June 2022 raid on his Ottawa County home during his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor.
Springstead told The Free Press that Kelley is eager to move on from the case, but still disputes the decision to charge him.
"I think that he wanted to resolve it so that he could focus on family and work, and not have the thing hang over his head, but no, I don't think that he's satisfied by it, in the sense that we both kind of think you should be able to go to the Capitol steps and protest what your government thinks, as long as you don't engage in violence," Springstead told the news outlet.
Kelley posted about an online fundraiser he said will be used to help him cover legal costs associated with the case. As of Thursday, the GiveSendGo fundraiser had raised more than $35,000 toward its $50,000 goal.
“On June 9, 2022, the FBI raided my house while I was the leading Michigan gubernatorial candidate,” Kelley wrote on his website.
“The Federal government is still coming after me and many others for peacefully protesting our government on January 6, 2021. My trial date is set for July 31, 2023. Join me by contributing to my legal defense fund and exposing the truth about J6."
