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Two-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Klete Keller charged with felony for role in January 6 Capitol attack

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Two-time Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller pleaded guilty to a felony charge stemming from his participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. The 39-year-old swimmer agreed to obstructing an official proceeding — one of seven criminal charges he incurred in February, but prosecutors dropped the other six — and can resultantly face up to 27 months in prison. 

Prosecutors claimed Keller wore a Team USA jacket during the riot, stayed in the Capitol for an hour and yelled expletives about Democratic party congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Those actions amounted to obstructing an official proceeding charge, one that has a recommended sentence of 21 to 27 months in prison. U.S. district judge of the District of Columbia Richard Leon, who presided over Keller’s case and will later sentence him, is not limited to that range. 

Over 600 people, including Keller, have been charged for their actions in the January attack on the Capital. The rioters injured 140 police officers, according to the Capitol Police Officers’ union

Keller, a Phoenix native and former USC star, appeared in three Olympics (2000, 2004, 2008) and won five medals. He’s best known for anchoring the men’s 800m free relay team in 2004, when the Americans gave the Australians their first loss at the international level in seven years. The Reno-Gazette Journal named him the most decorated Nevada-born Olympian ever in 2015. 

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