Former U.S. Olympic swimmer Klete Keller is facing criminal charges after law enforcement officers identified him as one of the people who entered the U.S. Capitol illegally last week. According to court documents, via USA Today, Keller, while won five medals in three different Olympics, has been charged with obstructing law enforcement, knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Keller was identified by an FBI agent who noticed him because of his height and the Team USA jacket he wore during the riot.
“PERSON 1 can be seen standing in the Rotunda still wearing the dark colored USA jacket, which also appears to bear a Nike logo on the front right side and a red and white Olympic patch on the front left side,” the FBI agent wrote. As of Wednesday afternoon, it’s not clear if Keller turned himself into authorities. Sarah Hirshland, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO, released a statement Wednesday afternoon about the incident but didn’t mention Keller.
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@Olympics – Please consider stripping the medals from this guy, Klete Keller if you please? Wearing your organizations insignia while attempting to overthrow the US government isn’t a good optic. pic.twitter.com/8LMUnjDMGJ
— Deidre Sabatello (@OheeBluis) January 12, 2021
“First off, I strongly condemn the actions of the rioters at the U.S. Capitol,” Hirshland said in a statement on Twitter. “At home, and around the world, Team USA athletes are held to a very high standard as they represent our country on the field of play and off. What happened in Washington, D.C., was a case where that standard was clearly not met.”
USA Swimming also released a statement, saying, “We respect private individuals’ and groups’ rights to peacefully protest but in no way condone the actions taken by those at the Capitol last week,” according to NBC News. Keller, 38, has not publicly commented on the incident.
Fans first got to know Keller in 2000 when he competed in the Summer Olympics in Sydney. He won two medals, taking home the bronze in the 400-meter freestyle and the sliver in the 4×200-meter freestyle. In the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Keller took home the bronze medal again in the 400-meter freestyle and earned his first gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle. He won the gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle again in the Beijing Olympic games in 2008.
