Olympic swimmer Klete Keller, who wore Team USA jacket to Jan. 6 riot, pleads guilty

WASHINGTON - Three-time Olympic swimmer Klete Keller, who notoriously wore his Team USA jacket to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one charge stemming from his role in the riot. The felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, though sentencing guidelines call for 21-27 months.

Keller, 39, entered the plea in a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon. As part of a plea agreement, Keller will cooperate with the government in additional prosecutions stemming from the attack on the Capitol in exchange for the government dropping the six additional charges against him.

No sentencing hearing was set, with assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards Jr. asking Judge Leon for ample time to allow for Keller's cooperation in ongoing cases and the judge noting Keller's sentence ultimately could be lowered or increased based on the extent of his cooperation. More than 600 people have been charged for their participation in the Jan. 6 attack.

In a presentation to the judge, Edwards detailed the government's evidence, all of which Keller has admitted, saying that Keller spent nearly an hour inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, at one point yelling "F--- Nancy Pelosi!" and "F--- Chuck Schumer!" in reference to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and then-Senate minority leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. At another point, Edwards said, Keller yanked his elbow away from a police officer who was trying to remove him and other rioters from the building.

Keller, who won two gold medals and five medals overall as an Olympian in 2000, 2004 and 2008, did not speak before the judge, except to answer a series of yes or no questions to demonstrate his understanding of the charges and the terms of the agreement. Neither Keller nor his attorney, Edward MacMahon, spoke to reporters outside the courthouse.

In remarks before the judge, MacMahon said his client was "trying to make amends for the terrible mistake he made," adding Keller is "embarrassed" and hopes to "start his life over."

Keller's involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection was first noted by members of the swimming community in the days following the attack and reported by the swimming website SwimSwam.com, after Keller, a Colorado Springs, Col. resident, was spotted in news videos of the mob surging into the U.S. Capitol. If Keller's 6-foot-6 frame and familiar features didn't give him away, the blue Team USA jacket he was wearing, with the U.S. Olympic Team patch on the shoulder, did.

The violent attack, spurred by then-President Donald Trump and his supporters, came as Congress was working to tally the electoral votes from the November presidential election, which Trump lost. Five people died as a result of the attack and dozens of U.S. Capitol police were injured.

Keller, who was not observed in any violent actions in the videos, was charged in U.S. District Court in Denver on Jan. 13, just a week after the assault on the Capitol, and turned himself in to authorities the next day. On Feb. 10, he was indicted by a grand jury on seven counts, carrying a maximum sentence of nearly 30 years. Keller initially pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors indicated in August that Keller had been offered a plea deal and informed Judge Leon he was prepared to accept it.

Keller swam for Team USA in three Olympics - Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 - and won a total of five medals, including two golds. He is perhaps best known within the sport for anchoring Team USA's gold-medal-winning 4x200-meter freestyle relay in Athens - a quartet that also featured Michael Phelps in the leadoff leg - by out-touching Australian legend Ian Thorpe in the adjacent lane.

A half-hour before Wednesday's hearing, Keller sat outside Courtroom 18 on the sixth floor of the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse - unmasked, until MacMahon whispered to him and he put on a blue surgical mask. Keller wore a white shirt, blue blazer, patterned tie, gray pants and brown shoes.

Once the hearing began, Judge Leon told the participants that vaccinated individuals could remove their masks when approaching the bench, but the unvaccinated should leave theirs on. The attorneys for both the government and the defense removed their masks to speak to the judge, but Keller left his on.

The judge asked Keller, among other things, whether he understood that he was pleading guilty to a felony, that he was waiving the right to a trial, that there would be no chance of parole once his sentence was set and that as a condition of his guilty plea he would not be permitted to own a firearm. Each time, Keller answered, "Yes, your honor," or "Yes, sir."

Judge Leon explained that while the federal sentencing guidelines call for a term of 21-27 months in prison, those guidelines are nonbinding, and the court would do its own "independent evaluation." He warned Keller to be on his best behavior during the interim period prior to sentencing, saying, "You're facing the possibility of incarceration. It would behoove you to be cautious in how you conduct yourself. The last thing you need it to be back here for [a hearing of violation]. This court takes a dim view of violations made while under its supervision."

Under the terms of the plea deal, Keller agreed to cooperate "fully, truthfully, completely and forthrightly" with federal, state and local law enforcement authorities - including testifying in other trials and potentially "participating in covert law enforcement activities."

As the government detailed the evidence against him, Keller sat without expression at the defense table, surrounded by clear, anti-viral plexiglass partitions. According to Edwards, the assistant U.S. Attorney, Keller took videos and pictures during the attack, but later destroyed the phone and its memory card and threw away the Team USA jacket.

Asked by Judge Leon if he had had a chance to review the evidence and discuss it with his attorney, Keller said, "Yes, sir."

"Are you pleading guilty because you are, in fact?" Leon asked.

“Yes, your honor,” Keller replied.