Clete Keller, a two-time Olympic gold medalist American swimmer, was sentenced to 36 months of probation and six months of home confinement on Friday for his participation in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. He was also ordered to complete 360 hours of community service.
Keller, who wore a “Team USA” jacket that day, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to one felony count of obstructing an official proceeding for his participation in the riot.
Federal prosecutors had asked for Keller to receive 10 months in prison, less than half the federally recommended guidelines for the charge. The sentencing memo acknowledged his cooperation with the investigation into the attack but said that “as a former Olympian with the opportunity to see America’s ideals firsthand and represent its place in the world, Keller was in a unique position to know better.”
Keller was charged with seven felony counts in February 2021, but the remaining charges were dropped in exchange for his promise to cooperate in any ongoing investigation.
Keller “remained inside for approximately an hour and stopped near the Senate chamber” and resisted riot officers’ attempts to remove him, exiting the building only after “chemical irritants and force” were used, prosecutors wrote.
“I have no excuse for being before you today,” Keller said during Friday’s hearing. According to the Associated Press. “I realize that my actions were criminal and that I am fully responsible for my conduct.”
Prosecutors said Keller, 41, repeatedly met with the government “to describe everyone around him and everything that happened leading up to and on Jan. 6,” adding that he “provided significant assistance.”
In January letter Keller apologized to the sentencing judge, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, for his actions and wrote that he was “deeply ashamed and embarrassed.” He continued: “As a former member of the US Olympic Swimming Team, my behavior was a terrible example to the young people who looked up to me.”
More than 1,200 defendants have been charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol as of November 6. according to Ministry of Justice.
Keller, who graduated from the University of Southern California in 2009, swam with the U.S. Olympic team in 2000, 2004 and 2008, earning five medals, two of which were gold in relay races.
(Photo: Vladimir Reis/Bongarts/Getty Images)
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