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- Olympic gold medalist swimmer Klete Keller has been indicted after participating in the crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the United States Capitol last week.
- He was seen in a video taken inside the Capitol building, then identified by the SwimSwam swimming news website and by coaches and former teammates who spoke with The New York Times.
- Those who spoke to The Times said they weren’t surprised to see Keller rioting and that he had posted pro-Trump rhetoric on Facebook in recent years.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
An Olympic gold medalist swimmer who was Michael Phelps’ relay teammate has been charged with criminal charges after taking part in the crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the U.S. Capitol last week, videos show.
Swimmer Klete Keller faces charges of obstructing law enforcement engaged in official functions related to civil unrest, knowingly entering or staying in a building or restricted land without legal permission, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds.
It is not known if Keller was taken into custody.
He was seen on video of the Capitol riot that a journalist for conservative media outlet Townhall posted on Twitter.
Swimming news website SwimSwam first identified Keller, and former teammates and coaches later identified him to the New York Times.
Keller, who is six feet six inches, was seen on video wearing an American Olympic team jacket that had “USA” printed on the back, and his face was clearly visible.
He has not been recorded taking part in acts of violence inside the Capitol, although federal authorities have accused many people of simply entering the building during the riot.
In an affidavit filed in court on Wednesday, FBI Special Agent Matthew Barofsky said officials helped identify Keller through the SwimSwam article.
Barofsky also suggested that Keller’s height helped identify him, saying he appeared to “be one of the taller individuals in the video depicting individuals” in the Capitol Rotunda.
Keller, 38, won medals at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics while anchoring the 4×200 freestyle. In the 2004 race, Keller retained Australia’s Ian Thorpe to help his team, which included Phelps, take the gold medal by just 0.13 seconds.
His life after the Olympics, however, was not as successful as he had hoped.
He told USA Swimming in 2018 that he spent a period of time unemployed and living out of his car after a divorce in 2014, and told NBC Sports he lost three of his Olympic medals.
For the past few years, he has worked as a real estate agent in Colorado Springs, Colo., The Gazette reported.
A spokesperson for USA Swimming told ESPN they could neither confirm nor deny that Keller was seen on Capitol Hill.
In a statement to Insider, USA Swimming said, “We respect the rights of individuals and groups to demonstrate peacefully, but in no way condone actions taken by those who made it to Capitol Hill last week.”
Former teammates and coaches who identified him to The Times said they were not surprised Keller took part in the riot.
They told the newspaper that he recently deleted his Facebook, but previously shared pro-Trump rhetoric.
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