Image Credit: George Washington University
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Though he received a pardon from President Trump for activities on January 6, 2021, (J6) a Maryville man has been sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to murder law enforcement agents in supposed retaliation for his original J6 conviction.
After a three-day jury trial last November, 36-year-old Edward Kelley, a Marine Corps veteran, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and influencing a federal official by threat.
According to court records and trial evidence, Kelly planned to murder members of law enforcement from several departments including the FBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Maryville PD, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, and Clinton PD.
Prosecutors presented further evidence that Kelley made plans with another man to attack the FBI office in Knoxville by using improvised explosive devices attached to vehicles and drones. This was confirmed by testimony from a co-conspirator who pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. Court records also reportedly showed Kelly shared his “kill list” of 36 targets and videos of his indented victims with the co-defendant as part of his “mission”.
During the trial, recordings were presented of Kelley calling for a “course of action” for his plan, where he could be heard saying, “You don’t have time to train or coordinate, but every hit has to hurt.” In one recording, Kelly gave instructions to “start it”, “attack”, and “take out their office” were he to be arrested.
Kelley was originally convicted by a federal judge in Washington in a trial without a jury on 11 counts related to J6 activities after he was seen on video supposedly pushing a Capitol Police officer to the ground along with two other individuals and using a piece of wood to damage a window to enter the Capitol building, according to the FBI.
Before he could be sentenced, Kelley, along with hundreds of others, received a Presidential pardon for his actions on J6, which Kelley then used to motion for the murder conspiracy charges to be dismissed. He contended that the new charges were “related” to the J6 case and therefore should be dismissed due to the pardon, but was unsuccessful in his petition.
A federal judge ruled there was no overlap in the Tennessee and Washington, D.C. cases, as there was not “a sufficient casual connection” to the events as the Capitol and stated that “the offenses at issue in defendant’s Tennessee Case are temporally and spatially unrelated to ‘events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021’ for the purposes of a pardon.”
The same judge, U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan, issued Kelley’s life sentence and denied a request for his release pending appeal, as Kelly has been jailed since December 2022. Prosecutors were the ones to recommend the life sentence, claiming he was “remorseless and incapable of rehabilitation.”
“On the contrary, Kelley not only believes the actions for which he was convicted were justified but that his duty as a self-styled ‘patriot’ compelled him to target East Tennessee law enforcement for assassination,” they wrote.
However, Kelly’s attorney asked the judge to reject the prosecutors’ request to apply a “terrorism enhancement” in considering Kelly’s sentence, arguing that since his client did not actually harm anyone or directly threaten anybody with violence, he should not receive similar treatment to terrorists.
“Kelly does not deserve the same sentence as an actual ‘terrorist’ who injured or killed hundreds or thousands of America citizens,” the attorney wrote. “Discussions did not lead to action. And while people may not like what Mr. Kelley had to say, he stands behind his position that he has a First Amendment right to free speech.”
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
