American Olympic swimmer Klete Keller was indicted on Wednesday in connection with last week’s deadly Capitol riot, court records show.
A criminal complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, showed that Keller was charged with impeding law enforcement, knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or property without legal authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol. grounds.
Videos seem to show the Olympic gold medalist at the Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 6 wearing a team jacket from the Olympic Games in the US. As protesters clashed with police, law enforcement officers can be seen multiple times push the crowd back including a man who appears to be Keller. SwimSwam, a competitive swimming news website, first identified Keller as possibly one of the members of a Trump-backed mob that attacked the Capitol. The New York Times also spoke to unnamed former teammates and coaches who said he was part of the crowd.
Federal agents confirmed it was Keller in the videos in part by matching his Colorado driver’s license photo to the person seen in the footage, according to the criminal complaint signed by FBI special agent Matthew R. Barofsky. Keller, who is 6 feet tall, also stood out for being one of the tallest people in the videos, the complaint said.
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Keller was part of the US swim team at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Together with Michael Phelps, he was part of the relay team that won the gold medal in the 4X200m freestyle in 2004 and 2008. The team also set a new world record in the same event at the 2007 FINA Swimming World Championships in Melbourne. Before police identified Keller as a riot, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee released a statement to CBS News on Tuesday detailing previous week were sentenced.
“We support the right to protest peacefully and to express values and views in a respectful and lawful manner – that is what makes our democracy strong. Unfortunately, that did not happen in this case,” said the committee.
According to a statement from the company, Keller also resigned from real estate company Hoff & Leigh in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he had worked as an independent contractor.
“Hoff & Leigh supports the right to free speech and legal protest, but we cannot endorse actions that violate the rule of law,” the company said.
The riot resulted in five deaths, including a Capitol Police officer. House Democrats accused President Trump of instigating the attack on the Capitol and voted on Wednesday to impeach him for the second time. Ten House Republicans also voted to impeach.