Ryan Kelley, the Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate who was arrested last week on four misdemeanor charges in connection with the Jan. 6 incidents at the U.S. Capitol, on Monday denied on Newsmax that he ever entered the Capitol building itself, and said his arrest was "no coincidence" considering its timing.
"There's a lot more that can be said about this," the Michigan Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report." "Speaking with my attorneys, we'll be discussing more of these things as the case unfolds, but the timing itself? There is no coincidence."
Last Thursday morning, just hours before the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 went on prime-time TV, federal agents raided Kelley's Allendale, Michigan, home, reports NBC News.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed that a search warrant was executed at the 40-year-old candidate's home, where he was arrested on charges including willfully injuring or attacking U.S. property and disorderly conduct.
But Kelley on Monday called the committee's claims of an insurrection "baseless," and said his support after the arrest has been "incredible."
"We have Americans across this country that have serious issues right now, dealing with inflation, record-high gas prices, record-high food prices, baby formula shortages," Kelley, who is a real estate agent. "Most Americans are not concerned about what happened on Jan. 6, so this has been an interesting thing to see unfold."
But Kelley has referred to himself as a political prisoner and said he does believe that politics is playing a role in his situation.
"The day before I was arrested, Joe Biden was on Jimmy Kimmel, and he said that they're going to arrest their political opponents," Kelley said. "Then roughly 12 hours later, I was arrested in front of my wife, in front of my children, when the FBI raided my home. So it looks to be that in correlation with what he said. That was the outcome that happened just the next morning."
He also said he believes the president's administration is "weaponizing the FBI."
"They're going after everybody," he said. "It's not just me. They're coming after right there coming after all of us that love our country, that love our Constitution, that want to make sure that we keep America a republic that can be a free country for future generations."
Meanwhile, Kelley referred to the ongoing Jan. 6 committee hearings as being "all theater" and said they are "politicizing these events to try to sway people in one direction."
Michigan residents, though, are dealing with "much more difficult situations" while they try to make ends meet, even if the committee is trying to intimidate candidates focused on the America first agenda.
But still, he said, "many of us have questions about the 2020 election process, and we want answers," and the committee is coming after people who want those questions answered.
Kelley, however, said the arrest is helping, not hurting him in the polls.
"You know, we're full speed ahead here and we're aiming to win the primary election and we're aiming to win the general election and to make Gretchen Whitmer a one-term governor and bring freedom and prosperity back to the great state of Michigan," said Kelley. "I love our country and we're going to make sure that we protect the freedoms and liberties of the foundation of this nation for the next generation. My wife and I have six kids. I'm not standing on the sidelines. We're taking our state and our country back."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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