WASHINGTON – A former Colorado Olympic swimmer who pleaded guilty to storming the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 riots was sentenced Friday to 6 months home detention, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Klete Keller, a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Colorado Springs, was also sentenced to three years’ probation and will have to perform 10 hours of community service every month as part of his sentence.
Prosecutors said Keller, 41, marched with thousands of other supporters of former President Donald Trump after a “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse and breached the Capitol from the west side as he joined the mob before leading them with chants of “F—k Nancy Pelosi!” and “F—k Chuck Schummer!” as the group advanced to the Senate Chamber, where lawmakers, including all nine Colorado members of Congress, were trapped as rioters tried to break in.
Prosecutors said police repeatedly tried to remove Keller and the other rioters from the Rotunda and said he former Olympic gold medalist was confrontational toward officers, repeatedly yelling “Take it easy!” and “Settle down!” and defiantly yelling “Why do we have to leave?”
Keller – who was recording his surroundings throughout the Rotunda and interacting with other rioters – was himself recorded in videos wearing a Team USA jacket which prosecutors said he would later throw in a trash can on his way to a hotel. Court documents show he also took a hammer and smashed his phone into pieces soon after Jan. 6.
Neither his Team USA jacket nor any of the video or pictures he took in and around the Capitol were recovered by federal prosecutors, a spokesperson with the DOJ said in a news release.
He was arrested and charged in early 2021 with seven federal counts in the weeks following the attack, but in a deal reached with prosecutors he pleaded guilty to only a single count of obstructing an official proceeding, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.
In exchange for the plea deal, the government dropped one other felony charge and five misdemeanor counts. He was given a lighter sentence despite federal prosecutors seeking 10 months in prison due to his “extensive cooperation with the government since turning himself in and his ‘genuine’ remorse for his conduct,” according to ABC News.
Keller told the court Friday that he understood that his "actions were criminal and I take responsibility" and apologized to lawmakers and the rest of the country.
"I condemn the violence of that day," he said, vowing to "not repeat the actions of the past," ABC News reported.
In the nearly three years since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 400 peopled charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony, DOJ officials said in a news release Tuesday. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-225-5324 or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Keller is among the nearly two dozen Coloradans who are either facing federal charges or who have been sentenced by the feds for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The other Coloradans involved in the events that day are:
- Todd Branden Casey of Denver was arrested on Aug. 30 in Georgetown, Colorado. He faces felony charges of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, plus multiple misdemeanor charges.
- Jacob Clark of Colorado Springs (previously lived in Trinidad) was arrested in April 2021 on multiple charges in connection to the Jan. 6 riot. He demanded police officers to stand down during the attack. He was sentenced on Oct. 30, 2023 to nearly three years in prison and a year of supervised release.
- Glen Wes Lee Croy of Colorado Springs, pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing inside the Capitol in August 2021. He wassentenced in November to 90 days of house arrest along with 14 days in a community correctional facility. He called himself an idiot.
- Tyler Earl Ethridge of Colorado Springs was arrested in July 2022 in Denver and faces six federal charges for his participation in the riot. He is a pastor who graduated from Charis Bible College in Woodland Park.
- Robert Gieswein of Woodland Park was arrested and faced multiple charges in January 2021 in connection to the Jan. 6 riot, including assault on an officer "with a spray canister, temporary barrier, and baseball bat," according to his arrest affidavit. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge in early March 2023. He was sentenced to 48 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release.
- Jonathan David Grace of Colorado Springs was arrested on March 30, 2023 on felony and misdemeanor charges. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2023 to assaulting a law enforcement officer.
- Logan Grover of Erie was charged in April 2021 with disruptive conduct in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds, and demonstrating in a capitol building. Hepleaded guilty in July 2022. He served in the Army Reserve for nearly 10 years and was deployed to Iraq, according to The Denver Post. He was sentenced to a month of house arrest and two years' probation in February 2023.
- Thomas Patrick Hamner of Peyton was arrested and charged in November 2021. Videos allegedly showed him fighting with Capitol and Metropolitan Police. In September 2022, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
- Lisa Ann Homer of Colorado Springs was arrested in November 2021 in Colorado Springs. She faces charges of illegally entering the capitol, disorderly and disruptive conduct on capitol grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building. She was sentenced to three years' probation, 60 hours of community service, a $5,000 fine and $500 restitution.
- Jennifer Horvath of Colorado Springs was arrested and charged in May 2022 on multiple federal charges. She was located after FBI agents linked her to her boyfriend Glen Wes Lee Croy (listed above), who was also arrested, charged and sentenced for his involvement. She was sentenced in November 2022 to 36 months of probation, including 90 days of home confinement and 14 days at a residential facility, plus a $500 restitution.
- Avery Carter MacCracken of San Miguel County was charged in December 2021 with assaulting officers in the Jan. 6 riot. He was arrested in Norwood on six federal charges. He was captured on videos and in photos fighting with U.S. Capitol Police officers. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing a law enforcement officer on Oct. 20, 2023.
- Patrick Montgomery of Douglas County was charged in January 2021 with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. According to an affidavit for his arrest, federal investigators were tipped off by someone who saw Montgomery in photos from inside the Capitol posted to Facebook. He pleaded not guilty.
- Daniel Michael Morrissey was charged in federal court in November 2021 for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol. He pleaded guilty to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and was sentenced to 45 days of incarceration and 26 months of probation in mid-August.
- Hunter Palm of Colorado Springs was arrested in May 2021 after he allegedly entered U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6. He was identified to federal investigators by a family member. He was arrested in May 2021 and indicted the following month. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
- Jeffrey Sabol of Jefferson County is accused of dragging a police officer down steps to be beaten by an American flag outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. A federal judge denied him bail in April 2021. After the attack, prosecutors said he tried to fly to Switzerland.
- Timothy Williams of Trinidad was charged in June 2021 with multiple federal crimes. FBI agents found Williams on videos of the rioters inside the Capitol that day.
- Eric Zeis of Monument was arrested on Nov. 13, 2023 and facies ace felony and misdemeanor charges after reportedly storming the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of other Trump supporters.
- Justin Schulze of Colorado Springs was arrested on Nov. 13, 2023 and facies ace felony and misdemeanor charges after reportedly storming the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of other Trump supporters.
