(WWJ) – Former Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley has been sentenced to 60 days in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Kelley was also sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a year of probation following his prison term and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, according to The Detroit News.
Kelley, 42, was initially charged with four misdemeanors in the summer of 2021 but pleaded guilty this summer to a federal misdemeanor of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
Court documents say Kelley climbed scaffolding and ended up in a courtyard at the Capitol. He also allegedly gestured to the large crowd to come to the building. Officials say he remained on the Capitol grounds for about two hours.
The government says Kelley “gleefully took part in the chaos” on Jan. 6 as thousands gathered to protest the results of the 2020 Presidential Election and made their way into the Capitol, causing an estimated $2.8 million in damage to the building.
Prosecutors were seeking three months in prison for Kelley, who they said failed to show “sincere remorse” for his actions, which included encouraging other rioters to enter the building.
More than 20 people from Michigan have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 chaos. Nationwide, nearly 1,200 people spanning all 50 states have been charged.
Kelley was arrested in connection with Jan. 6 last June, boosting his name recognition ahead of the Republican Primary Election. He ultimately finished fourth in the primary.