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Kelly CohenESPN
Klete Keller, a two-time US Olympic gold medalist in swimming, appears to have been among the riots that stormed the US Chapter last week, according to video footage.
The video appears to show Keller, 38, without a mask and wearing a Team USA jacket during the riot. Keller was part of the American swimming team at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, anchoring 4×200 freestyle. In 2004, in Athens, he specifically hired Australian Ian Thorpe to help his team – which featured Michael Phelps – win gold.
A spokesman for USA Swimming, contacted by ESPN, could neither confirm nor deny that it is Keller seen in the video, which was first reported by the swimming news site SwimSwam. Several former teammates and coaches said they recognized Keller in the video, according to a report by The New York Times.
A Townhall Media reporter shared the now viral video from inside the Capitol Rotunda on January 6, and Keller reportedly appeared in about 12 seconds.
“[W]We respect the rights of individuals and groups to protest peacefully, but in no case do they accept the actions taken by the Capitol last week, “a spokesman for the US Swimming told ESPN on Tuesday.
Keller recently worked as a real estate agent in Colorado Springs with Hoff & Leigh. His employment has been confirmed for SwimSwam, but his profile has since been removed.
Since then, Keller has deleted all his social media accounts, although he has posted the ardent support of President Donald Trump in the past. His most recent public photos on Instagram are from 2017 at an event outside Boston.
The January 6 riots of pro-Trump supporters in protest against the election certification of President-elect Joe Biden killed five people, including a US Capitol police officer. Dozens of people have been arrested since then, and the FBI said Tuesday that they have opened more than 160 cases and are investigating more than 100,000 digital evidence they have received.