Politics & Government

Feds Dismiss Capitol Riot Charges Against Rockland Man: Report

He went to D.C. with members of the Proud Boys and former New York City police officers, federal agents had said.

Federal agents included this photo in their criminal complaint against Christopher M. Kelly. The case is being dismissed, The Journal News reported Wednesday.
Federal agents included this photo in their criminal complaint against Christopher M. Kelly. The case is being dismissed, The Journal News reported Wednesday. (U.S. Department of Justice)

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Federal prosecutors have dropped charges against Christopher M. Kelly, a Rockland County resident accused of participating in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, The Journal News reported.

The U.S. Attorney's office filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss the case, saying prosecutors had discussed the merits of the case with Kelly's lawyer, "and upon reflection of the facts currently known to the government, the government believes that dismissal without prejudice at this time serves the interests of justice," according to TJN.

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Kelly was charged in late January, after the FBI executed a search warrant on his Facebook account. The criminal complaint cited photographs, posts and chats in which he said he would be with members of the Proud Boys as well as with former New York City police officers and boasted of getting inside. "MAGA is here full on. Capitol building is breached," he was alleged to have posted on Facebook Jan. 6, according to the complaint.

The Proud Boys, told last summer by then-President Donald Trump to "stand back and stand by," is a national far-right group calling itself "Western chauvinist" that was co-founded by Westchester County resident Gavin McInnes.

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