A Tennessee man involved in the Capitol riot is convicted of planning to kill investigators

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A Tennessee man arrested for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol has been convicted of planning to kill federal law enforcement agents. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Knoxville says Edward Kelley was found guilty Wednesday of conspiring to murder federal employees, soliciting the commission of a violent crime and influencing a federal official by threats. A 35-year-old Maryville man was one of hundreds of rioters arrested on suspicion of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors say that while awaiting trial, Kelley compiled a “kill list” of FBI agents and others involved in the investigation. He faces life imprisonment.

FILE – Rioters storm the west front of the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee man arrested for involvement in January 6, 2021, US Capitol riots was convicted Wednesday of planning to kill federal investigators.

Edward Kelley, 35, was found guilty in Knoxville of conspiring to murder federal employees, soliciting the commission of a violent crime and influencing a federal official by threats, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release.

Kelley, of Maryville, was one of hundreds of rioters arrested on suspicion of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol. While waiting for the hearing, Kelley developed a plan to kill law enforcementincluding FBI agents, prosecutors said. When he is sentenced in May, he faces life imprisonment.

According to prosecutors, Kelley compiled a “kill list” of FBI agents and others involved in the investigation. As part of his “mission”, he sent the list along with videos containing images of FBI employees to another person. Court records show a witness provided Tennessee police with a list of 37 names.

A cooperating defendant who pleaded guilty to the conspiracy testified that he and Kelley planned attacks on the FBI’s Knoxville office using car bombs and incendiary devices attached to drones. Prosecutors say they have prepared a strategy to kill FBI employees in their homes and public places such as movie theaters.

Evidence presented at trial shows that Kelley said that “every punch had to hurt.”

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