By Steve Neavling
A Tennessee man convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot is arguing that former President Trump’s broad pardon of Jan. 6 defendants should also cover his later plot to attack FBI agents, The Washington Post reports.
Edward Kelley, 36, was arrested after participating in the Capitol attack. Later, he conspired with two friends to assault the FBI’s Knoxville field office, telling them they would carry out “recon missions and assassination missions,” according to court records. Kelley was convicted of felonies for both the Capitol riot and the December 2022 plot.
Trump’s pardon covers nearly 1,600 Jan. 6 defendants “convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6.” Kelley’s attorney, Mark E. Brown, claims the FBI plot was directly connected and argues his client should be released.
Legal experts disagree, saying the pardon likely doesn’t apply to crimes committed long after the riot. “Threatening to murder an investigating agent months later is not related,” said Samuel Morison, a former Justice Department official. “It’s a completely separate crime.”
Federal prosecutors in Tennessee haven’t responded to Kelley’s motion. He remains in custody at the Blount County Jail in Maryville.
