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American Klete Keller, who won two Olympic gold medals as Michael Phelps’ relay teammate, was identified as one of Donald Trump’s supporters inside the U.S. Capitol last week, according to multiple reports. .
Swimming news website SwimSwam alleged in a report that at least a dozen people in the sport identified the towering man wearing a US Olympic team jacket inside the building as Keller after reviewing video and screenshots of the riot.
USA Swimming did not respond when asked if they could confirm whether Keller was part of the crowd that entered the legislative compound as lawmakers began certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory on November 3 on Trump.
Reuters’ attempts to reach Keller failed.
A woman who answered the phone for the Colorado and Ohio-based real estate agency where Keller works told Reuters, “We’re not commenting at this time,” then hung up.
In one of the videos, which was taken by a reporter for conservative media outlet Townhall, a man identified as Keller is seen among the crowd that police are trying to push out of the Capitol.
Keller is a five-time Olympic medalist who stood up to Australian great Ian Thorpe in the anchor stage of the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2004 Athens Games to win gold for the United States.
Swimming world
(@SwimmingWorld)Olympic champion Klete Keller appears to have been in the U.S. Capitol during the uprising – https://t.co/JiDwxgSPog pic.twitter.com/9b0zwbLXCH
Swimming World also claimed to have confirmed with sources that Keller was seen on the U.S. Capitol and added that the videos did not show any violence from the 38-year-old. The Guardian were unable to independently verify that the person in the videos was Keller.
According to the New York Times, Keller deleted his social media accounts, several of which the publication said had included a stream of pro-Trump messages in recent years.
Trump urged thousands of supporters to march on Capitol Hill last Wednesday, causing chaos in which crowds entered the building and forced the evacuation of the US Senate and House of Representatives.
Five people, including a police officer, died as a result of the rampage.
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