A former U.S. Marine was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for plotting a deadly attack on FBI personnel and law enforcement officers—an act prosecutors say was motivated by retaliation after his arrest for participating in the January 6 Capitol riot.

Edward Kelley, 36, of Maryville, Tennessee, was among the early wave of rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

According to the FBI, he was the fourth individual to enter the building through a shattered window and was caught on video helping others throw a Capitol Police officer to the ground and using a piece of wood to break a window.

But nearly two years later, Kelley escalated his confrontation with law enforcement far beyond the Capitol.

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Prosecutors say he conspired with another man to launch an attack on the FBI’s Knoxville office using improvised explosive devices attached to vehicles and drones. The plan also included assassinating dozens of law enforcement officials involved in his 2022 arrest.

Last November, a jury convicted Kelley on several charges including conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a violent crime, and attempting to influence federal officials through threats.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan sentenced Kelley to life in prison at a hearing in Knoxville and denied a motion for release pending appeal.

Prosecutors had pushed for the maximum penalty, citing a lack of remorse and a continued threat to public safety.

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“On the contrary, Kelley not only believes the actions for which he was convicted were justified but that his duty as a self-styled ‘patriot’ compelled him to target East Tennessee law enforcement for assassination,” they wrote.

Kelley’s background as a military veteran added a disturbing dimension to the case. He served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan before his discharge in 2015.

His post-service years, however, took a dark turn as he became embroiled in the Capitol riot and later, a violent anti-government plot.

In a separate case related to the Capitol insurrection, Kelley was previously convicted on 11 counts in a bench trial in Washington, D.C. Before sentencing could take place, he received a pardon from then-President Donald Trump.

However, Judge Varlan ruled that the pardon did not extend to Kelley’s conduct in the Tennessee conspiracy, emphasizing the separation in both time and geography between the two sets of offenses.

“Kelley’s crimes in the Tennessee case were separated from Kelley’s conduct on Jan. 6 ‘by years and miles,’” Varlan stated, siding with prosecutors who also rejected the notion that Trump’s clemency covered the later offenses.

Interestingly, this contrasts with arguments made in other Jan. 6-related prosecutions, where courts accepted that a Trump pardon applied to unrelated convictions.

In one case, a Kentucky man’s pardon for participating in the Capitol riot was found to also shield him from charges related to illegal firearm possession.

Kelley had been in custody since December 2022. His attorney, Mark Brown, argued against the prosecution’s request for a terrorism enhancement, claiming Kelley never harmed anyone or directly issued threats.

“Kelley does not deserve the same sentence as an actual ‘terrorist’ who injured or killed hundreds or thousands of American citizens,” Brown wrote.

He further argued the case showed “little to no planning,” and suggested Kelley’s rhetoric was protected speech. “Discussions did not lead to action,” Brown asserted.

“And while people may not like what Mr. Kelley had to say, he stands behind his position that he has a First Amendment right to free speech.”

Yet evidence presented in court painted a more chilling picture. Kelley compiled a list of 36 law enforcement officers who had been involved in his arrest and the search of his home, calling the assassination list their first “mission.”

The plot was discussed on encrypted messaging apps with co-defendant Austin Carter and another unidentified individual.

According to prosecutors, “The proof at trial established that Kelley targeted law enforcement because of their anticipated role in the civil war that Kelley hoped to initiate and because of his animus towards those who participated in his May 2022 arrest and search of his home.”

Carter, who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in January 2024, is scheduled for sentencing in August.

He provided crucial testimony, recounting that he and Kelley had conducted military-style training in November 2022.

Prosecutors said Carter’s testimony left little doubt about the plot’s deadly intent.

“Carter’s testimony was unequivocal — he had no doubts that, had he and Kelley not been arrested, the law enforcement personnel included on Kelley’s list would have been murdered,” they wrote.

Kelley now joins a small but notable group of Jan. 6 defendants still imprisoned after Trump’s broad clemency.

His case stands out not only for the severity of the sentence but for the violent ambitions it revealed—plans that prosecutors say could have led to tragedy had they not been intercepted.

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