Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer Sentenced For Appearance In Capitol On Jan. 6

A former U.S. Olympic gold medalist was sentenced to 36 months of probation due to being at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Kelete Keller has won five Olympic medals throughout his career, two of them gold.

The former Olympian evaded prison time by profusely apologizing for his actions.

Fox News has more on the story:

Klete Keller, an Olympic gold medalist swimmer, was sentenced to six months of home detention and three years probation for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Keller pleaded guilty in September 2021 to a felony charge for storming the U.S. Capitol and faced 21 to 27 months in jail.

Keller acknowledged in court records he tried to obstruct Congress’s certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory, brushed away officers who tried to remove him from the Capitol Rotunda and yelled profane comments about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as he stood near officers wearing riot gear.

He also acknowledged throwing away the distinctive U.S. Olympic team jacket he wore during the riot and destroying his phone and memory card containing photos and videos he took inside the Capitol.

Investigators said they identified him based on screengrabs from a viral video, his driver’s license and because of the jacket and his 6-foot, 6-inch frame.

It amazes me that people still characterize what happened on Jan. 6 as a riot.

Yet the media continues to defend the actions of the BLM movement and the destruction it caused.

Olympic gold medal swimmer Klete Keller gets home confinement in Capitol riot case https://t.co/LXih4XDovM pic.twitter.com/NK2jGCwbRL

— New York Post (@nypost) December 1, 2023

ABC News has more on the story:

Judge Richard Leon said this wasn’t a “one size fits all case” and there was “no question that [Keller] was remorseful.” The defendant’s cooperation with the government was also mentioned at length during Friday’s hearing.

“If there was ever a case for probation, this is it,” Leon said.

Leon told the Olympian that he wanted him to speak to young adults about “how he learned from his mistakes” and later told Keller, “I expect you to succeed.”

Keller responded, “Thank you, your honor, I will not let you down.”

Keller told the court that he understood that his “actions were criminal and I take responsibility” and apologized to lawmakers and the American people.

“I condemn the violence of that day,” he said, vowing to “not repeat the actions of the past.”

It’s a shame that Keller backed down and apologized for his actions.

Perhaps he is only apologizing to avoid prison time.

These people should never have been sentenced in the first place.