Tennessee man involved in Capitol riot is convicted of planning to kill investigators

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A Tennessee man who was arrested for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot was convicted Wednesday of planning to kill federal investigators.

Edward Kelley, 35, was found guilty in Knoxville of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and influencing a federal official by threat, the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release.

Kelley, of Maryville, was one of hundreds of rioters arrested on charges of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol. While awaiting trial, Kelley developed a plan to kill law enforcement, including FBI agents, prosecutors said. He faces up to life in prison at sentencing in May.

Kelley developed a “kill list” of FBI agents and others who participated in the investigation, according to prosecutors. He distributed the list, along with videos containing images of FBI employees, to another person as part of his “mission.” Court records show that a witness provided the list of 37 names to a police department in Tennessee.

A cooperating defendant who has pleaded guilty in the conspiracy testified that he and Kelley planned attacks on the FBI's Knoxville office using car bombs and incendiary devices attached to drones. They strategized about assassinating FBI employees in their homes and in public places such as movie theaters, prosecutors said.

Kelley was recorded saying “every hit has to hurt,” according to evidence presented at trial.