A Tennessee man who was arrested on January 6, 2021, for his involvement in US Capitol riot He was convicted Wednesday of planning to kill federal investigators.
edward kellyThe 35-year-old was found guilty of conspiring to murder federal employees in Knoxville, soliciting to commit a crime of violence and influencing a federal official by threat, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement. News release,
Kelly, of Maryville, was one of hundreds of rioters arrested for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors said that while awaiting trial, Kelly developed a plan to kill law enforcement, including FBI agents. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced in May.
According to prosecutors, Kelly developed a “kill list” of FBI agents and others participating in the investigation. He distributed the list along with videos containing images of FBI employees to another person as part of his “mission”. Court records show that a witness provided a list of 37 names to a police department in Tennessee.
A co-defendant who pleaded guilty to the conspiracy testified that he and Kelly planned an attack on the FBI's Knoxville office using car bombs and incendiary devices attached to drones. Prosecutors said they devised a strategy to assassinate FBI employees in their homes and in public places such as movie theaters.
According to evidence presented at trial, Kelly was recorded saying, “Every blow hurt.”
conviction comes in waves US Capitol riot defendants are citing Donald Trump's election in requests delay their criminal trials Due to his public pledge to pardon some people convicted of crimes on January 6, 2021.
In court filings reviewed by CBS News, defense lawyers asked federal judges in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 to postpone proceedings in some of the cases until 2025, when President-elect Donald Trump will take office.
The filing complicates the Justice Department's ability to draw conclusions prosecution – hundreds of which remain active – before the change of regime.
John Minchillo/AP