Klete Keller.Photo: getty images
Klete Keller — a former Olympian for the United States swim team — now facesfederal chargesafter he was identified among the thousands of rioters who breached theU.S. Capitolon Jan. 6.
The 38-year-old was spotted in a number of photos and videos from the attack, which saw a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters forcing lawmakers into hiding as they certified Electoral College votes to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
While riot footage of Kellerdid not show him committing acts of violence, many in the group were filmed looting and vandalizing the Capitol. Rioters alsoremoved an American flag off of a flagpoleoutside of the building and replaced it with a Trump flag.
Here is everything you need to know about Keller’s career and his participation in the deadly Jan. 6 riot.
Klete Keller.getty images
Keller won five medals in the Olympics
The former athlete participated in three Summer Olympics games from 2000, 2004, and 2008. Keller won five Olympic medals during his career, including two gold medals as a member of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay team.
The relay team also included Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Peter Vanderkaay. The group won first place in Athens in 2004 and again, four years later, in Beijing.
He struggled after stepping away from swimming
In an interview with theOlympic Channel, Keller admitted to living in his car for months just a few years after achieving Olympic glory. Around the time, Keller’s marriage had dissolved and he lost his job.
“For me, I was out on the street in one night,” he recalled on the 2018 podcast. “There was a lot of tears, I cried a lot and I was so scared, I had never been that scared.”
“You’d think that day would be low, but it kept getting lower and lower and lower for the next couple of years,” Keller continued.
He has been a staunch supporter of President Trump
While it appears Keller has deleted his social media accounts after the Capitol riot,SwimSwam— a swimming news website — reported that his past posts revealed he was an “outspoken supporter” of Donald Trump.
The presidentincited his supportersat a rally prior to the violent siege.
Keller has been charged with his role in the riot
Keller wore a Team USA jacket while participating in the riots
He resigned his position at a real estate company following the riot
Keller was an employee for the commercial real estate firm Hoff & Leigh in Colorado Springs, Colorado,The Washington Postreported.
In astatement to PEOPLE this week, Hoff & Leigh said Keller resigned from the company.
source: people.com
