After Michigan governor candidate Ryan Kelley was arrested by the FBI on Thursday morning, his campaign’s Facebook page posted a short message: “Political prisoner.”
Kelley was arrested for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
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A handful of Republicans – including some of his opponents for governor – are standing in support of Kelley.
“We extend our prayers to the Kelley family,” governor candidate Garrett Soldano said on Twitter. “It’s a sad day in America when the FBI has become an arm of the Democrat Party. Biden’s FBI is busy targeting parents and intimidating Republicans while crime runs rampant across America.”
Candidate Kevin Rinke also questioned the FBI.
“I respect Ryan Kelley and have met him out on the trail,” Rinke said. “My hope is that the FBI is acting appropriately, because the timing here raises serious questions. Praying for him and his family.”
The timing is notable, as the U.S. House begins its primetime committee hearings on Thursday night, investigating the Jan. 6 riots.
RELATED: FBI began investigating Ryan Kelley just days after U.S. Capitol riot
The other two Republican candidates for governor, Tudor Dixon and Ralph Rebandt, haven’t reacted on social media to the news.
Meshawn Maddock, co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party, is calling Thursday’s hearing “political theater,” and questioned why Kelley’s charges weren’t filed sooner.
“Do people really get their homes raided and arrested in front of their children over a misdemeanor?” Maddock said. “Democrats are out in force weaponizing our justice system and targeting their political opponents.”
Maddock and her husband, State Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, were in Washington, D.C. during the insurrection to protest, but the couple says they didn’t attend the storming of the Capitol.
The Michigan Democratic Party criticized Kelley for his “callous disregard for the principles of democracy,” in a statement from MDP Chairperson Lavora Barnes.
“Tudor Dixon, Garrett Soldano, Kevin Rinke, and Ralph Rebandt have equally shouldered the same baseless lies about 2020 that spurred Ryan Kelley to storm the capital in search of war,” Barnes said in a statement. “Michiganders won’t forget the role they played in dismantling public trust in democracy.”
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