Former Olympic Gold Medalist Klete Keller Pleads Guilty To Rioting At the Capitol

On Wednesday, Klete Keller, a former U.S. Olympic swimmer, pleaded guilty to a felony charge for the part he played in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

On Jan 6, Keller participate in the Capitol riot to halt the certification of the Electoral College vote count. On that day, Keller was seen wearing a U.S.A. Olympic team jacket and engaging in inappropriate behavior. He took pictures and videos of the chaos, chanted in vulgar language about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and defied the police. 

Seven charges were brought against Keller in court but he was only found guilty of one felony — obstructing an official proceeding before Congress — after accepting a plea bargain. As part of the agreement, Keller agreed to aid law enforcement with the ongoing investigation into the attack on the Capitol.

Keller appeared in the Olympics for the first time as a teenager in 2000 in Sydney. He went on to compete for another eight years, appearing in the 2004 and 2008 games as well. During his time as an Olympian, he won two gold medals and five medals overall.

Keller, 39, currently awaits sentencing that could put him in prison for up to 20 years.

Article by Nicholas Mallozzi