Two Tennessee men are facing federal charges for planning to attack law enforcement in retaliation for the arrest of one of the men at the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
The Department of Justice said in a news release Friday that Edward Kelley, 33, of Maryville, Tennessee, and Austin Carter, 26, of Knoxville, Tennessee, were charged with conspiracy, retaliating against a federal official, interstate communication of a threat, and solicitation to commit a crime of violence. Kelley and Carter appeared in court Friday and were detained. Carter has a court hearing set for Wednesday.
Kelley is facing charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia related to an alleged assault on a law enforcement officer during the breach of the Capitol Building. In the latest complaint, the DOJ said Kelley obtained a list of law enforcement personnel who participated in that criminal investigation.
In conversations with a cooperating witness, the DOJ said Kelley and Carter discussed collecting information and plans to kill the law enforcement personnel on the list, which included an attack on the FBI's field office in Knoxville.
On its Twitter site, the FBI shared a screenshot of a comment by FBI Director Christopher Wray about the incident.
"Today's allegations that individuals sought to attack and hurt or kill FBI personnel are sickening," Wray said. "FBI employees honorably perform their duties protecting the American public and upholding the Constitution, and they should be able to execute these duties without threats of violence."
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