Former Michigan GOP candidate pleads guilty to January 6 charge

Ex-candidate is one of hundreds charged with minor crimes related to attack on Capitol

A man who was once the leading Republican candidate for governor in Michigan — after his arrest on charges related to January 6 — has just pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour.

Ryan Kelley became the latest prominent Republican to be caught up in the prosecution of those who attacked the US Capitol when he was arrested last June. The news gave him a temporary polling bump in the Michigan gubernatorial primary, as voters apparently saw his participation in a violent riot that injured dozens of police officers to be a positive aspect of his candidacy.

He was later defeated by Tudor Dixon in the state’s Republican primary, however, and now awaits sentencing for a misdemeanour charge of entering and remaining in a restricted area. NBC News first reported his guilty plea on Thursday.

Mr Kelley’s charge is comparatively lower than those faced by many other participants in the attack, as there appears to be no evidence that Mr Kelley was among the more violent perpetrators that day. Police who were attacked during the riot described the advancing supporters of Donald Trump screaming insults and racial epithets at them while assaulting them with metal barricades, chemical sprays and other makeshift weapons.

A number of firearms were also spotted in the crowd throughout the day, though no shootings occurred beyond one woman who was shot by Capitol Police as she attempted to force her way through a barricade to the House floor where lawmakers were huddled in fear inside.

Mr Kelley "used his hands to support another rioter who was pulling a metal bike rack onto the scaffolding” during the attack, according to a plea agreement, but was accused of actively battling with officers.

His plea agreement has already been accepted, and a sentencing date has been set for October.

The guilty plea of a former Republican candidate comes as Mr Trump’s attorneys met with Jack Smith and his team on Thursday; the former president is said to be imminently expecting a third criminal indictment charging him with crimes related to the attack on the US Capitol in the final days of his presidency.

Mr Trump and his legal team are also thought to be expecting, in the same indictment, charges related to their months-long effort to challenge and wrongly alter the results of the 2020 presidential election.