Two-time Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller was sentenced Friday to six months of house arrest for his admitted role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
D.C. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon also sentenced the 41-year-old former swimming champion to three years of probation and ordered him to perform 360 hours of community service.
Keller pleaded guilty in September 2021 to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.
“I have no excuse for being in front of you today,” Keller told Leon before receiving his sentence. “I understand that my actions were criminal and that I am fully responsible for my conduct.”
Keller’s attorneys, in court papers filed last month, asked the judge to sentence him to probation and pay restitution, arguing that his “early acceptance” of being one of the first people to plead guilty in the case justified leniency. .
The fact that Keller was not at the Capitol for a long time, that he did not hurt anyone or damage any property and that he had not been arrested before also supports a no-jail sentence, attorney Zachary Deubler wrote.
Two-time gold medalist Klete Keller pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding in 2021. AFP via Getty Images
“While Mr. Keller’s conduct at the Capitol was inexcusable, his behavior was nonviolent and arguably much less disruptive than that of many of the [other] accused…” wrote Deubler. “This Court should not lump Mr. Keller’s conduct in with that of some of the most serious offenders, but should instead consider Mr. Keller’s relatively minor role.”
Meanwhile, prosecutors asked for a 10-month sentence, arguing that Keller had tried to conceal his involvement in the riot that day by throwing away the jacket he was wearing, with an American flag on one sleeve, an Olympic team patch on the front and the letters “USA” on his back, in a trash can and smashing his cell phone with a hammer.
“Klete Derik Keller once wore the American flag as an Olympic athlete. On January 6, 2021 he threw that flag into a trash can,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum last month.
Keller pleaded guilty in September 2021, saying, “I understand that my actions were criminal and that I am fully responsible for my conduct.” AP Keller was sentenced Friday to three years of probation for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. REUTERS
The burly Keller, six feet six inches and 250 pounds, stood inside the Capitol for nearly an hour, shouting “Fuck Nancy Pelosi!” and “Fuck Chuck Schumer!” and resisting officers’ efforts to remove him from the building, the feds argued in the filing.
He only left after police deployed Mace and other forces, prosecutors added.
Keller was also allegedly seen with a group pushing past police officers as they pushed their way into the Capitol Rotunda to try to stop the certification of the 2020 Electoral College result.
Keller is seen on video storming the Capitol while wearing a Team USA jacket. Julio Rosa/Townhall.com via Storyful
Still, prosecutors acknowledged that Keller turned himself in a week after the riot, cooperated with the feds during the three years his case was pending – providing “substantial assistance” in the process – and showed remorse for his actions.
At the time of the guilty plea, Keller’s attorney, Edward McMahon Jr., said his client was “trying to right his terrible mistake… [he] “He wants to start his life again.”
The former swimmer reached a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop six other charges first filed against him in February 2021, including disorderly conduct, entering a restricted building and impeding law enforcement.
Keller is a five-time medalist and was on the team with Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. REUTERS
Keller quit his job as a real estate broker in Colorado following his arrest.
The speedy swimmer won gold medals in the 4×200 meter relay at the Athens Summer Olympics in 2004 and repeated the feat in Beijing in 2008.
He also won a silver in the same event at the Sydney Games in 2000.
He also won an individual bronze medal in the 400 meter freestyle in Sydney and Athens.
Keller’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
With postal cables
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn