Olympic swimmer’s USA jacket and height help FBI identify him in Capitol riot charge
An Olympic gold medalist seen among the pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol last week has been charged, authorities say.
Klete Keller, a five-time Olympic swimming medalist, was charged in federal court Wednesday after video footage showed him among rioters in the Capitol rotunda, authorities say. The rioters breached the Capitol as Congress was certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s election win.
Keller was charged with obstruction of law enforcement, knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
An FBI agent reviewed video by conservative news outlet Townhall Media that depicted a tall man wearing a dark USA jacket and other footage captured a U.S. Olympic Team patch, according to court documents.
The agent cited an article by swimming news site SwimSwam that stated the man towering above others inside the Capitol could be Keller.
Then the agent compared the video to Keller’s driver’s license from Colorado, which appeared similar and listed him as 6 feet 6 inches tall, according to documents.
Keller won five medals across three Olympics in 2000, 2004 and 2008, according to SwimSwam. He was a team member with Michael Phelps and won gold medals on two relays with the superstar.
After his swimming career, Keller was an independent contractor at real estate agency Hoff and Leigh in Colorado Springs, but he resigned Tuesday, NBC News reported.
“Hoff & Leigh supports the right of free speech and lawful protest but we cannot condone actions that violate the rule of law,” the agency told NBC News. “We pride ourselves on our deeply held core values of family, loyalty, community and stewardship. We continue to stand by these values.”
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland released a statement Thursday before Keller was charged.
“At home, and around the world, Team USA athletes are held to a very high standard as they represent our country on the field of play and off,” Hirshland said. “What happened in Washington, D.C., was a case where that standard was clearly not met. The people involved attacked the very fabric of the democracy we all proudly represent and, in turn, also let our community down.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Olympic swimmer’s USA jacket and height help FBI identify him in Capitol riot charge."