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Kelly CohenESPN
Klete Keller, a two-time U.S. Olympic swimming gold medalist, was apparently among the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol last week, according to video footage.
In the video, Keller (38) appears to be without a mask and to wear a Team USA jacket during the riot. Keller was part of the American swimming team at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics and anchored the 4×200 freestyle. In 2004 in Athens, he especially held off Australian Ian Thorpe to help his team – with Michael Phelps – win gold.
A USA Swimming spokesperson, reached by ESPN, could not confirm or deny that Keller was seen in the video first reported by the swimming news website 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 on Jan. 6 inside the Capitol Rotunda, and Keller allegedly appeared around noon.
“[W]”I respect the rights of private individuals and groups to protest peacefully, but by no means endorse the actions taken by those at the Capitol last week,” a U.S. swim spokesman told ESPN on Tuesday.
Keller recently worked as a realtor in Colorado Springs at the Hoff & Leigh agency. His service has been confirmed to SwimSwam, but his profile has since been removed.
Since then, Keller has deleted all of his social media accounts, though he has posted his ardent support for President Donald Trump in the past. The most recent public photos of him on Instagram are from 2017 at an event outside Boston.
The January 6 riots by Trump presidential supporters in protest of the election certification of President-elect Joe Biden led to the deaths of five people, including a U.S. Capitol police officer. Dozens of people have since been arrested, and the FBI said Tuesday they have opened more than 160 case files and are investigating more than 100,000 pieces of digital evidence they have received.