US Olympic swimming gold medallist, Klete Keller has been charged by the Justice Department for participating in the January 6 attack on Congress by supporters of President Donald Trump.
The 38-year-old, who won five Olympic swimming medals, including two relay golds, was filmed as part of the crowd that illegally entered the huge Rotunda hall of the Capitol after violent protesters forced their way in.
Photos from the Capitol show Keller wearing a US Olympic Team jacket and “appears to be one of the tallest individuals,” Barofsky writes in his statement of facts. Keller is 6 feet, 6 inches tall.
He was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and obstructing law enforcement engaged in official duties incident to civil disorder, according to documents filed in US District Court in Washington, DC
In a statement, USA Swimming told CNN, “We respect private individuals’ and groups’ rights to peacefully protest but in no way condone the actions taken by those at the Capitol last week.”
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee said it condemned the actions of the rioters.
“We support the right to peacefully protest and express values and viewpoints in a respectful and lawful manner — that is what makes our democracy strong. Sadly, that is not what happened in this case,” the organization said in a statement.
Keller competed in the Olympics in 2000, 2004, and 2008, taking two golds and a silver in the 4×200 metre freestyle relays, and two bronzes in the individual 400 metre freestyle.
