Two-time Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller had his sentencing hearing postponed once again until December 1, nearly three years after he stormed the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Keller’s sentencing date was initially scheduled for May 10, but it was pushed back until July 7 after his attorney, Edward B. MacMahon Jr., died in March. Now delayed for a third time this summer, the defense argued this five-month postponement is warranted due to “the nature of Mr. Keller’s ongoing cooperation… and the potential effect that such cooperation may have on Mr. Keller’s eventual sentence.”
The felony charge for obstructing a federal proceeding carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, but the 41-year-old Keller will likely receive far less time. Paul Allard Hodgkins spent just eight months behind bars in Florida after entering a guilty plea for the same felony charge two years ago in Florida.
An outspoken supporter of former president Donald Trump, Keller was identified in videos from the insurrection wearing a U.S. Olympic Team jacket. A few days later, he turned himself in facing charges in Denver. Keller originally pleaded not guilty to the seven charges he faced, but he reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in September of 2021.
Keller admitted to spending “a little less than one hour” inside the Capitol as part of an attempt to stop or delay certification of the electoral college vote for the 2020 election. He also said he took phone photos and videos inside the Capitol, then destroyed the phone, its memory card, and threw away the Team USA jacket within 48 hours.
According to his plea, Keller yelled, “F*** Nancy Pelosi!” and “F*** Chuck Schumer!” when he was in the rotunda.
The Capitol riot resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer. More than 1,000 people have since been arrested, more than half of whom have pleaded guilty, according to the Department of Justice.
A three-time Olympian, Keller won two gold medals as a member of the American men’s 800-meter freestyle relay team at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. He also picked up a silver in the event at Sydney 2000 in addition to a pair of bronze medals in the 400 free at Sydney 200 and Athens 2004. He competed collegiately at USC for two years from 2000-01 before turning professional. Until 2007, he trained at Michigan’s Club Wolverine under coaches Jon Urbanchek and later Bob Bowman.
Related:
There once was a man named Klete Keller
Who became a notorious feller
Through the Capitol halls
He shouted dangerous calls
Now he risks being a jail dweller
*This poem is not legal advice
Nothing about Leah Thomas joining a terrorist group (Antifa)? Come on swimswam!
I’m guessing your not anti-fascist then?
Oh boy the nuts are out today.
Yeah, I commented the same below …. but used the term “bats”. Anything potentially political and in today’s climate, comment sections become The Hunger Games.
Ridiculous.
i had commented similar the other day but it was not posted. My point was either go the politcal route like this story about Klete and also the issues related to trans like competition and safe sport with people with male genitals in girls lockerrooms (see here: Teen Girl ‘Heartbroken’ to Leave YMCA after Ban for Protesting Man in Women’s Locker Room (msn.com)), etc., or not. To me the trans stories directly relate to swimming which is supposedly the reason SwimSwam was created. The story here on Klete arguably has little or nothing to do with swimming.
It’s a crazy they can identify every single person from Jan 6th but can’t find one rioter from the BLM riots.
Nothing like some classic whataboutism to move the dialogue further.
It’s almost like the vast majority of BLM protestors were peaceful, as their intent was to protest the unjust murder of unarmed African Americans.
93% of BLM protests were peaceful, and there were hundreds, if not thousands of them across the world. 100% of January 6th DC insurrections were not.
Not entirely accurate
It is not crazy if you understand that the Capitol building has its own cell tower, sophisticated surveillance and security systems, and on and on. Klete Keller had his smartphone on taking pics and video and the systems log and track his phone number.
I know right. It’s like, you can’t even get together with your best buds, some of whom are carrying grenades and firearms, while others have
erected a gallows and are literally chanting “hang Mike Pence”, and break into the U.S Capitol building with the purpose of overturning a democratic election without risking aggressive prosecution by the U.S Government. What is our country coming to? It’s probably just a partisan witch hunt. /end sarcasm
The early summer protests, riots, and sporadic uprisings resulted in over 10,000 arrests nationwide. The FBI later expanded that number to more than 13,600 (as of June 6, 2020).
He lives a troubled life. I’m not surprised. Things will not get better for him anytime soon. All for who? Donald con man Trump? Hope it was worth it.
That said. he wasn’t violent so I think he can be left with a felony charge and a short sentence.
It’s really unbelievable to see how many people got conned in USA by the grifter.
You say “got” like it’s passed tense…. They still are.
What’s even sadder is the number of down votes responding to your comment. Means there’s a sad number of folks still being conned.
It’s a cult.
You reap what you sow.
Klete is more famously known for this than his swimming.
I don’t even remember this guy winning, lol:
He was phenomenal as a swimmer. You must have not been following.
Ok….
I see the moderator is a leftist pussy
Klete had ALL of us Americans best interest in mind when he protested that day. We should forever be indebted to him for his sacrifice.
Lol. No.
He is not a patriot. Period.
Yup
And I suppose you think Biden is selling out American interest?
no have him rot for being a traitor
Is this Retta’s secret account?
Retta is MAGA? 😱
Sadly yes. She recently tweeted something unhinged about Biden destroying America and then blocked everyone who called her out (and said she was being bullied for “expressing her First Amendment right.”) Sigh.
Without looking up what she tweeted, there is a place where one could not agree with what the current administration has done while also not be Trump supporters. In fact, I’m willing to bet the percentage of the population that fits in this category is larger than the percentage that supports Trump explicitly (or the percentage that supports the current administration, for that matter). There’s plenty of nuance and it doesn’t have to be one extreme or the other.
You know there are a lot of far-left liberals who are saying this too. Doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s MAGA but ok…
Sure, but that’s absolutely not the case here. “Worst president ever” nonsense is not something any left-progressive folks would say about Biden.
So to be clear you think Biden is helping America?
I think Corn Pop would do a better job.
hAAAHaaahaaaaHAAAHaaaaa! Popeye must’ve forgot his spinach today.