Who is Ryan Kelley’s wife? Michigan GOP governor candidate arrested on Jan 6 charges ahead of hearings
Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley was arrested on Thursday morning, June 9, over his role in the Jan 6 riot at the US Capitol last year, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. The 40-year-old candidate was arrested at his home and taken into custody in Allendale, where he lives, and faces four misdemeanor charges.
As per The Detroit News, Kelley declined to answer reporters' questions after he was released on bond. His next hearing will take place over Zoom on June 16. If convicted, Kelley faces a maximum punishment of up to one year in federal prison and a fine of up to $100,000 for each charge. As soon as he came out of the court, Kelley was greeted by a crowd of supporters to whom he gave a thumbs up and also, kissed his wife, Tabitha Kelley.
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Who is Ryan Kelley’s wife?
There is not much information about how these two met and when they got married. But as per her page, This Mama's House, Tabitha is a video creator for six years. She is a homeschool mother, to six amazing kids, who loves to cook, clean and spend time with her family. She writes blogs and makes videos to help motivate and inspire other mothers like her to live an organized and intentional life.
Why is Ryan Kelley in the loop?
Kelley, who is a real estate broker, is accused of disruptive conduct, injuring public property and entering restricted space without permission, according to the criminal complaint. In a court document made public on June 9, the federal investigators said Kelley was recorded on video outside the US Capitol on the day of the insurrection, repeatedly waving to the crowd and directing them toward stairs leading into the building. "He used his phone to film the crowd assaulting and pushing past US Capitol police officers and was in a crowd that climbed stairs to a Capitol entrance after causing police to retreat," the FBI said.
The document included multiple photos of Kelley that the FBI described as screengrabs from a video taken that day, with Kelley wearing aviator sunglasses and a baseball cap worn backward, trying to rally the pro-Trump crowd. Kelley has long acknowledged that he was at the insurrection and said that he didn’t go inside the Capitol.
He is among 800 approximate people, who are facing criminal charges in connection with the riot. It is not clear why authorities decided to move against Kelley now, though the government continues to charge more people in the massive investigation, even nearly 18 months later.
Kelley became a vocal activist in Michigan during the coronavirus pandemic when he protested restrictions put in place by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. During the early months of the pandemic, he organized a protest at the Michigan Capitol, inviting heavily armed militias to gather inside the statehouse. Kelley is one of five candidates for the GOP nomination to challenge Whitmer in November, this year. Five other Republicans were disqualified because they had fraudulent signatures on their petitions.