“This is War, Baby!”: New Footage of GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Ryan Kelley at Capitol Emerges As Insurrectionist Continues to Downplay Involvement on January 6th

LANSING — Last night, new footage emerged of Ryan Kelley appearing to advance on the U.S. Capitol during the January 6th insurrection that killed five and injured 140 officers in Washington D.C. In the video posted to Twitter, the Republican candidate for governor can be heard shouting “Come on, let’s go! This is it! This is– this is war, baby!” as he moves along with a crowd of rioters towards the building.

This video comes after months of Kelley’s attempts to downplay the extent of his involvement in the violent defense of the Big Lie.

In a March interview with MLive, Kelley claimed: “As far as going through any barricades, or doing anything like that, I never took part in any forceful anything. Once things started getting crazy, I left.”

And this month, during a CNN segment on insurrectionists running for office, the national outlet accused him of “ducking questions about his whereabouts” even as a reporter physically pointed out “images showing him deep in the fray of rioters.”

MDP partnered with Ottawa County Democrats in Kelley’s hometown of Allendale to hold a June press conference detailing the GOP gubernatorial candidate’s lengthy history of engaging in violent, intimidating demonstrations to push his extremist agenda — such as the time he knowingly invited a militia man “who later was arrested for his role in a plot to kidnap and likely kill Whitmer” to a pro-confederacy rally.

“Ryan Kelley has no business seeking an elected position in the same government he tried to overthrow. Information keeps coming out placing him closer and closer to the violence than he’s said he was, He should come clean and immediately explain why the Republican party should nominate an insurrectionist to lead their party. ” said Rodericka Applewhaite, MDP spokesperson. “Michiganders need a leader that will put them first, not incite dangerous rioters. While the Republican gubernatorial candidates push their lies and extremism, Governor Whitmer has stayed focused on revitalizing the economy and making key investments in working families.”

Elect more Michigan Democrats!

If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.**