Trump-Pardoned Capitol Rioter Edward Kelley Sentenced to Life for Plotting to Kill FBI Agents and Incite Civil War
Knoxville, Tennessee — A Tennessee man who was pardoned earlier this year by former President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has now been sentenced to life in federal prison — not for his involvement in the insurrection, but for a separate and far more ominous plot to assassinate federal law enforcement officers and spark what he hoped would become a civil war.
Edward Kelley, 35, of Maryville, Tennessee, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville after a federal jury convicted him in November on conspiracy and obstruction charges related to a violent plan targeting FBI agents and other officials involved in the investigation of his conduct during the Capitol riot.
The sentence comes despite the fact that Kelley was among more than 1,500 Capitol riot defendants granted clemency by Trump in a sweeping set of controversial pardons issued on January 20, 2025, the final day of Trump’s second term. Legal experts note that the presidential pardon applied only to federal charges stemming directly from the Capitol breach — not to any unrelated or subsequent criminal conduct.
A Chilling Plot: “Mission” to Kill Law Enforcement
According to court filings and trial testimony, Kelley created a “kill list” identifying 36 federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel, including their names, titles, and personal phone numbers. Prosecutors revealed that Kelley distributed this list — along with surveillance-style videos of some of the targets — to a co-conspirator, urging violent action under the pretense of a patriotic “mission.”
“The defendant viewed the FBI as the enemy and, as such, believed they were valid targets in the civil war he hoped to initiate,” federal prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. “He saw these law enforcement officers as the ‘eyes and ears’ of a government he despised.”
The Justice Department said Kelley’s animus stemmed largely from his 2022 arrest and the search of his home, which he blamed on a broad government conspiracy. In intercepted communications, Kelley expressed no remorse and instead viewed himself as a “patriot” executing what he believed was a righteous duty.
From Capitol Rioter to Domestic Terror Threat
On January 6, 2021, Kelley played a front-line role in the Capitol breach. Surveillance footage captured him as the fourth individual to illegally enter the Capitol building, moments after windows and doors were smashed by the advancing mob. He was part of the group that aggressively confronted Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman outside the U.S. Senate chamber, while lawmakers were still being evacuated.
Although Kelley was arrested and charged in connection with the riot, those charges were nullified by Trump’s mass pardons. However, by that time, Kelley was already under separate investigation for what federal officials described as “pre-operational behavior consistent with a violent domestic terror plot.”
The Justice Department press release announcing his life sentence made no reference to his Jan. 6 involvement — a deliberate omission, according to legal analysts, intended to separate the charges from the politically charged debate around the Capitol riot.
Beyond Kelley: A Pattern of Post-Pardon Criminality
Kelley is not the only pardoned January 6 defendant to reoffend. In Florida, a man released under the same mass clemency order was arrested in late January 2025 on illegal weapons charges. In Texas, another Trump-cleared rioter was later arrested on suspicion of attempting to solicit a minor online.
“These cases underscore the dangerous precedent of blanket pardons for political loyalists,” said retired federal prosecutor Marsha King. “Clemency is a constitutional power, yes, but using it to shield violent offenders from accountability sends a chilling message — especially when some of these individuals turn around and escalate their crimes.”
No Regret, No Rehabilitation
During sentencing arguments, prosecutors painted Kelley as a remorseless extremist with no intention of rehabilitation. “Kelley continues to believe his actions were justified,” prosecutors wrote. “He is not a man seeking redemption. He is a man seeking martyrdom for a war he is still trying to start.”
The court agreed. U.S. District Judge Katherine Crytzer handed down the life sentence without the possibility of parole, calling Kelley “a grave threat to the rule of law, public safety, and democratic stability.”
Kelley’s attorneys said they intend to appeal.
Conclusion: A Pardon’s Limits and a Nation on Edge
Edward Kelley’s case highlights the real and present danger of radicalized individuals who not only reject the legitimacy of the U.S. government but also act violently on that belief — even after receiving extraordinary leniency. While the Trump pardon temporarily shielded Kelley from accountability for the Capitol riot, it could not stop the deeper descent into violent extremism that followed.
His story is a sobering reminder that some of the darkest consequences of January 6 are still unfolding — in courtrooms, in communities, and in the radicalized fringes of American society.
Sources:
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U.S. Department of Justice Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa
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United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee Records
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CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/edward-kelley-capitol-rioter-life-sentence-fbi-plot
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ABC News Report: https://abcnews.go.com/US/capitol-rioter-edward-kelley-sentenced-life-plot-kill/story
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Associated Press: https://apnews.com/article/edward-kelley-fbi-plot-capitol-pardon
