A Tennessee man has been sentenced to life for conspiring to kill FBI agents. Edward Kelley, the self-proclaimed Jan 6 ‘patriot’ was found guilty on November 20, 2024 on charges of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and influencing a federal official by threat.
As per the court documents and evidence submitted during his three-day trial, it was found out that Kelley planned to kill “agents, officers, and employees of the FBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Maryville Police Department, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, and Clinton Police Department,” as per the press release by Office of Public Affairs.
BREAKING: Edward Kelley, 36, of Maryville, TN, has been sentenced to life in prison for plotting to murder multiple federal law enforcement officers in Tennessee. https://t.co/m6D29yPjeU pic.twitter.com/R995grTnhP
— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville) July 2, 2025
Another defendant, who cooperated and earlier pleaded guilty for his role in the conspiracy, had revealed that he and Kelley planned to attack the FBI office in Knoxville using car bombs and other devices. Their evil plan also included killing FBI employees in their homes, or in public places such as movie theatres.
Kelley had created a “kill list” of FBI agents and other federal employees who were investigating him and his Jan 6 conduct. Reportedly, he then circulated this list along with the images of his targets to conspirators.
During the trial, some of his recordings were used as evidence in which he was heard instructing others to “start it,” “attack,” and “take out their office” in case he is arrested. In a recording, he even said, “You don’t have time to train or coordinate, but every hit has to hurt,” and “Every hit has to hurt.”
Edward Kelley one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol, pardoned by Felon47, was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to murder law enforcement and attack FBI Office. pic.twitter.com/iiGp873oJf
— Melchizedek (@NoirPointNoir) July 2, 2025
Since Kelley showed no remorse, The Justice Department argued in a sentencing memorandum that he deserved the harshest punishment possible as the 36-year-old convict continued to “believe he was justified in targeting East Tennessee law enforcement for assassination” and that he was “duty-bound as a self-proclaimed patriot to do so.”
“The defendant is remorseless,” the DOJ stated. As per Law & Crime, the government said, “From even before the instant offenses of conviction, through his commission of these crimes, up until and after trial, the defendant’s conduct demonstrates a fundamental absence of remorse, a commitment to continuing his criminal behavior once released from prison, disrespect for the rule of law, and a profound need for deterrence.”
The statement further said that instead of owning up his criminal actions, Kelley believes that “he is the victim of a crime apparently committed by the FBI, the United States, the trial witnesses, the jury, and this Court” and that “he appears proud of his crimes.”
Meanwhile, Kelley’s attorney stated that the government’s portrayal of the defendant was inaccurate, claiming that the DOJ was making “unsubstantiated and uncharged allegations” to place Kelley in a “false light.” However, the DOJ counter-argued the same citing Kelley’s motivations and claims of victimization.
WASHINGTON: Edward Kelley, a Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by President Trump, was sentenced to life in prison for plotting to kill FBI agents and police who investigated him. He claimed Trump’s pardon covered the plot as well, but DOJ opposed and the court rejected it. pic.twitter.com/Mgm684whoS
— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) July 2, 2025
Earlier, Kelley tried claiming that his murder plot was related to Jan 6 events as Donald Trump signed an executive order issuing the pardoning of prosecuted rioters. However, his claims of executive pardon were firmly rejected by the court. US District Judge Thomas A. Varlan rejected Kelley’s bid to get his conviction covered under presidential pardon, saying, “none of the substantive offenses or charging provisions overlap” in the way Kelley has claimed.
