- Olympic gold medalist swimmer Klete Keller was charged after joining the crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump, who invaded the U.S. Capitol last week.
- He was seen in a video taken inside the Capitol building and later identified by the SwimSwam swim news website and by coaches and former teammates who spoke to The New York Times.
- Those who spoke to The Times said they were not surprised to see Keller in the turmoil, and that he has posted pro-Trump rhetoric on Facebook in recent years.
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An Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer and relay companion to Michael Phelps has been criminally accused after participating in the crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump who invaded the United States Capitol last week, video shows.
Swimmer Klete Keller is facing charges of obstructing police officials involved in official duties in the event of civil unrest, intentionally entering or remaining in any restricted building or land without legal authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
It is not clear whether Keller was taken into custody.
He was seen in video of the Capitol riot that a conservative Townhall media reporter posted on Twitter.
The swim news website SwimSwam first identified Keller, and former teammates and coaches later identified him for The New York Times.
Keller, who is five feet tall, was seen in the video wearing a United States Olympic team jacket with the letter “USA” stamped on the back, and his face was clearly visible.
He was not registered for participating in any violent acts inside the Capitol, although federal authorities accused many people of simply entering the building during the riot.
In a statement filed with the court on Wednesday, FBI special agent Matthew Barofsky said the authorities helped identify Keller through the SwimSwam article.
Barofsky also suggested that Keller’s height helped to identify him, saying he appeared “to be one of the tallest individuals in the video that portrays individuals” at the Capitol roundabout.
Keller, 38, won medals at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics while anchoring the 4×200 freestyle. In the 2004 race, Keller held up famous Australian Ian Thorpe to help his team, which included Phelps, win gold for just 0.13 seconds.
His life after the Olympics, however, was not as successful as he expected.
He told USA Swimming in 2018 that he spent a period of time unemployed and living with his car after a divorce in 2014, and told NBC Sports that he lost three of his Olympic medals.
In recent years, he has worked as a real estate agent in Colorado Springs, Colorado, The Gazette reported.
A spokesman for USA Swimming told ESPN that they could not confirm or deny that Keller was seen on Capitol Hill.
In a statement to Insider, USA Swimming said: “We respect the rights of private individuals and groups to protest peacefully, but in no way do we tolerate the actions taken by those on Capitol Hill last week.”
Former teammates and coaches who identified him for The Times said they were not surprised by Keller’s participation in the riot.
They told the newspaper that he had recently deleted his Facebook, but had previously shared pro-Trump rhetoric.