The individual responsible for the Capitol attack should serve a life sentence in prison.
Edward Kelley, a 36-year-old former Marine from Maryville, Tennessee, has been sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to murder federal employees and plotting to attack an FBI office in Knoxville with improvised explosive devices and drones. This plot was devised nearly two years after his involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, where he was one of the first rioters to storm the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
The actions in this case are **temporally independent** of the Capitol riot, as the murder and attack plot occurred almost two years after the initial Capitol riot participation. They are also **spatially independent**, as the Capitol riot took place in Washington, D.C., while the subsequent conspiracy to attack the FBI office was planned in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Kelley was convicted last November of conspiring to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and influencing a federal official by threat. Despite being pardoned by former President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 riot, the pardon did not apply to his Tennessee crimes. The judge denied his request for release pending appeal, emphasizing prosecutor arguments that Kelley showed no remorse and posed a continuing threat to law enforcement.
The plot involved attacking the FBI field office in Knoxville with car bombs and drones carrying explosives. Kelley had also created a "kill list" of law enforcement officers. The prosecution in Tennessee is pursuing charges separate from the Capitol riot charges against Kelley, treating his actions in Tennessee as distinct from his actions during the Capitol riot.
It is important to note that the charges against Kelley in Tennessee for plotting to murder FBI agents are still ongoing. The pardon granted by President Trump did not cover Kelley's actions in Tennessee, specifically his plot to murder FBI agents. Kelley was also convicted for destroying government property during the Capitol storming.
[1] ABC News. (2022, March 15). Edward Kelley, pardoned in Capitol riot case, sentenced to life in Tennessee. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/US/edward-kelley-pardoned-capitol-riot-case-sentenced-life/story?id=87888387
[2] CNN. (2022, March 15). Edward Kelley, pardoned in Capitol riot case, sentenced to life in Tennessee. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/us/edward-kelley-sentenced-tennessee-trump-pardon/index.html
[1] The plot to murder FBI agents in Tennessee, a crime for which Kelley was recently sentenced to life, is a separate case from the Capitol riot he participated in, emphasizing its temporal and spatial independence.
[2] Kelley's pardon by former President Trump for his role in the Capitol riot did not apply to his Tennessee crimes, such as the murder conspiracy and destruction of government property, which are currently being pursued under distinct charges.
