His court appearance came a day after he continued to spread lies about the 2020 election and defended his appearance in the rebellion during a debate on Wednesday night.
At a debate on the Republican candidates hosted by WOOD TV8 in Michigan, Kelley expressed no regrets about his Jan. 6 visit to Washington.
“On January 6, 2021, when gas was under $2 a gallon — those were good times,” Kelley said when the moderator asked about the uprising.
“I was in Washington, DC on January 6,” Kelley continued. “Yeah, the FBI raided my house in front of my wife, in front of my kids, made this big misdemeanor drama. And it was the same day they launched their witch hunt committee on January 6th. in Congress right now. But you know, this was a First Amendment activity by the majority of these people — myself included — we were there protesting the government because we don’t like the results of the 2020 election, the process of how it happened. And we got that First Amendment right. And that was what 99% of the people were there for that day. And yes, I support President Trump.”
Kelley also repeated various election conspiracies during the debate and told voters he still believes the election in Michigan — where Biden won by more than 154,000 votes — was stolen.
“Yes, the 2020 election in the state of Michigan was rigged and stolen by President Trump,” Kelley said.
Kelley is one of a handful of Republicans vying to take on Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this fall.
This story has been updated with Kelley’s not guilty plea.
