Ryan Kelley, a GOP candidate for governor, has been ordered to surrender his firearms whilst awaiting trial for misdemeanor criminal charges connected to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building. The ruling came on Thursday when a federal judge decided Kelley would need to release his guns into federal custody until the charges have been settled one way or another.
Judge follows the FBI and officially endorses Ryan Kelly for Governor of Michigan.
Judge orders Kelley to surrender his guns due to mental illness for just standing outside of Capital and not rioting on Jan6. https://t.co/UNApdOn7b1
— 🇺🇸RealRobert🇺🇸 (@Real_RobN) June 19, 2022
Robin Meriweather, a U.S. Magistrate Judge, concluded with said ruling following objections from Kelley’s own attorney that sought to argue that Kelley needs to carry a concealed weapon at all times for self-defense purposes as he campaigns around the state, he’s running for governor in. On June 9, Kelley was arrested during an FBI raid on his home in Ottawa County, and the following Thursday he appeared in court for the first time in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in Washington D.C.
This isn’t a red flag issue, but it does raise legit questions on red flag laws. This dude is charged with trespassing. Banning him from having guns as a pretrial condition is just dumb.
This is why slippery slope arguments always win in gun control.https://t.co/OMvyJtfpPe
— Dog guy (@Catsorange1) June 20, 2022
Kelley was released on bond and appeared in court through Zoom but is set to appear in person in the Washington federal court on July 7 for his preliminary hearing.
According to a newly released poll from the Free Press, Kelley is the current front-runner between the five GOP hopeful candidates for governor. He has been officially charged with entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct, knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against a person or property, as well as willfully intuiting property, as documented by the criminal complaint.
A day after his arrest by the FBI for his role in J6, Ryan Kelley says, “They just handed me the Governor’s seat in MI,” saying he is more popular now. He says he believes this goes back to the rally he organized in 2020 where people went inside the MI Capitol with camo and guns. pic.twitter.com/m9P5CfY7B8
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) June 12, 2022
Broadly, charges such as those, which are all classified as misdemeanors, carry penalties of up to $100,000 in fines and up to a full year in prison for each individual charge.
Former FBI agent, Gary Springstead, who now works as an attorney in Fremont, Michigan, and is representing Kelley, requested that Judge Meriweather make an exception for his client as it pertains to a ban on being in possession of a firearm. Prohibiting the possession of firearms has notably been a standard condition of release for the roughly 800 individuals that have been charged with various things in connection to the infamous Capitol riot.
TYRANNY: Michigan GOP Candidate for Governor, Ryan Kelley, Has Guns Taken by Judge for Standing Outside the Capitol on Jan 6 Michigan’s GOP candidate for governor was indicted recently as he moved ahead the polls in Michigan. The timing was very suspect as the corrupt guns-taken
— Annie T Oakley (@Oakley1Annie) June 19, 2022
Springstead argued that Kelley is seen as a “bit of a high-profile candidate in Michigan,” so he should be exempt from the firearm ban in order to carry a handgun for protection as he campaigns. Despite being a “high profile” candidate, however, Kelley has hired no security to ensure his safety.
Springstead noted that Kelley does have a concealed pistol license and requested that he be permitted to continue to conceal carry his weapon for his own safety during his campaign.
“It’s another Democrat show,” Kelley said.#Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley will have to surrender his guns while he awaits trial on misdemeanor charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, a judge ruled. https://t.co/NgKsuU0o48
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) June 20, 2022
Following an objection, Judge Meriweather was inclined to agree.
“I do understand the concern,” she acknowledged, but went on to say that she could not allow an exemption on account of other factors, including the safety and security of pre-trial services officials who will be tasked with various jobs that require them to pay visits to Kelley’s home.
Judge orders GOP candidate Ryan Kelley to surrender his guns. He said he needs his guns to campaign. I ran for office decades ago and guns weren’t necessary to campaign 🤷🏿♀️ https://t.co/etQu2jjn1E
— Kirkat (@Kirkat9) June 17, 2022
The request was denied, and Kelley was also ordered to immediately surrender his passport.
