The Fate Of Man Arrested for Capitol Unrest on Jan. 6th Has Been Decided
Prosecutors on Tuesday revealed that they want to drop the charges against a New York man who participated in the Jan. 6 demonstration at the Capitol.
Christopher Kelly would be the first of more than 450 people who face charges in connection with the events of that day to have the charges dropped, according to The Washington Times.
Kelly, of New City, New York, was charged on Jan. 20 based on information supplied by a confidential informant. He faced charges of unlawful entry, obstruction of an official proceeding, and other offenses.
“The government and defense counsel have discussed the merits of the case, and upon reflection of the facts currently known to the government, the government believes that dismissal without prejudice at this time serves the interests of justice,” prosecutors wrote in a filing on Tuesday, according to CNN.
Politico’s report on the matter included a comment from what it said was an official source who indicated the charges may have been based upon a false assumption — that Kelly entered the Capitol building.
Official tells @joshgerstein that DOJ dropped the case because their investigation revealed Kelly never actually entered the Capitol, despite bragging “we’re in.” https://t.co/fk1H7Dk22A
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) June 1, 2021
“Since he was not inside, in the interest of consistency in the investigation, the charges were dropped,” the official said, according to Politico.
CNN noted that no photos of Kelly could be found showing he had entered the building itself.
Neither Edward McMahon Jr., an attorney for Kelly, or the Justice Department, would comment.
The charges were based on comments Kelly made on his Facebook account.
ARRESTED: Christopher Kelly from Clarkstown, NY said, “taking this back by force now, no more bs” & “Tear gas, police, stopped the hearing, they are all headed to the basement.” His brother is a retired @NYPDnews officer. https://t.co/SvwA4lfsjF pic.twitter.com/EErPZwZlkb
— Cleavon MD (@Cleavon_MD) January 25, 2021
“I’ll be with ex NYPD and some proud boys. This will be the most historic event of my life,” he wrote in advance of the day of the incursion, according to The Times.
“We’re in,” Kelly posted at about the time demonstrators entered the Capitol building, according to Politico.
Kelly’s Facebook account included statements such as “Taking this back by force now” and a referencing to getting snakes “ Out of OUR HOUSE.”
Kelly has been on pretrial release.
In its reporting, CNN noted that the Justice Department has been indicating it is trying to bring many of the Capitol incursion cases to a close.
That would usually mean some kind of plea deal to avert a trial, CNN noted.
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