Report: Olympic Gold Medalist Klete Keller Part of Crowd at U.S. Capitol Insurrection
Klete Keller, a two-time Olympic gold-medal-winning swimmer, was identified by former teammates and coaches as a participant in a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, according to The New York Times' Karen Crouse and Victor Mather.
News of Keller's participation in the violent riot, which resulted in the deaths of five people, including a Capitol Police officer, was first reported Monday by SwimSwam.
Keller, who won a gold medal in 2004 and '08, appeared in a video which showed the 6' 6'' swimmer standing over a crowd in the Capitol Rotunda while wearing a U.S. Olympic team jacket that had "USA" printed across the back and down the sleeves and additionally had an Olympic-team patch on its front. According to the Washington Post's Rick Maese, however, the jacket does not appear to be from Keller's Olympic days, but was worn by Team USA members who competed at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.
No video has emerged of Keller participating in any explicitly violent acts while in the Capitol, however, numerous people who entered the building last week face federal charges of unlawful entry and disorderly conduct.
According to the Times, few of the people in the swimming community who recognized Keller expressed surprise at his presence at the insurrection. The Times reported that the swimmer's since-deleted social media accounts had in recent years included pro–Donald Trump messaging. Keller could not be reached by either of the outlets that first reported news of his presence.
On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced an article of impeachment charging Trump with "high crimes and misdemeanors" for inciting the mob that performed the insurrection on the Capitol. The House is set to vote Tuesday evening to formally call on Vice President Mike Pence to strip Trump of his duties by invoking the 25th Amendment, declaring that the 45th president is unable to serve. Pence is not expected to take any such action. Instead, the House will begin debating the resolution on Wednesday, one week before President-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated.
Keller, 38, has won five Olympic medals from three different games. According to SwimSwam, in recent years he has worked as a real estate agent at Hoff & Leigh in Colorado Spring and was confirmed to have worked there as of Monday morning.
However, the Times reported that when asked about Keller's employment on Tuesday, a woman who answered the company's phone said, "We can't give out any information on that at this moment."
