Tennessee Men Allegedly Planned Attack on Jan. 6 Investigators, FBI Field Office

A man identified as Edward Kelley is seen inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. Department of Justice via The Epoch Times

Two Tennessee men were arrested after allegedly planning to kill law enforcement personnel and attack the FBI’s field office in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

In a criminal complaint filed on Friday, Edward Kelley, 33, and Austin Carter, 26, were charged with conspiracy, retaliating against a federal official, interstate communication of a threat, and solicitation to commit a crime of violence (pdf).

Kelley was already facing charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia related to an alleged assault on law enforcement during the breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The criminal complaint alleges Kelley and Carter obtained a list of law enforcement personnel who participated in the criminal investigation related to Jan. 6, with intent to “kill the individual law enforcement personnel on the list.” The complaint alleges the men’s plans included attacking the FBI’s Knoxville field office.

“Federal law enforcement agents put their lives on the line every day to protect the public,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III in a statement. “Planning and threatening violence against them is among the most serious of crimes. It is absolutely unacceptable and will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”

The Alleged Plot

In May, an arrest warrant was issued for Kelley by the D.C. court for a host of charges including assaulting officers, civil disorder, destruction of government property, entering and remaining in the Gallery of Congress, and more, according to the criminal complaint filed last week by FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico.

Kelley was arrested at his place of employment in May, according to court documents, and search warrants were executed at his home and in his vehicle.

Earlier in December, an acquaintance of the defendents went to the police in Maryville, Tennessee, and gave them an envelope that was claimed to be given to Carter by Kelley. Inside the envelope, there was a document titled “the list.”

A man identified as Edward Kelley is shown inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. Department of Justice via The Epoch Times

The document had a list of approximately 37 names, position titles, and phone numbers of the agents who participated in the investigation into Kelley. The list also allegedly specifically “identified which law enforcement officers were present at arrest or home search” of Kelley in May.

The envelope contained a USB drive with home security camera footage from the May search of Kelley’s home, including at least one depiction of an officer present for the search.

The witness claimed that during a walk with Kelley and Carter earlier in December, the two defendants allegedly told the witness that “with us being such a small group, we will mainly conduct recon missions and assassination missions,” adding that they would get the witness the list of targets later.

Carter and the witness were allegedly asked to gather intelligence on the law enforcement officers participating in the search and investigation, including “reaching out to [their] cop buddies” to see what information they could gather.

At their place of employment soon after their walk, Kelley provided the witness with the envelope and allegedly instructed him to “memorize it and burn it.” The witness contacted law enforcement the same day.

The witness recorded conversations in the following days with the help of the FBI and calls were recorded claiming Kelley would stash “weapons and ammo” at the witness’s home and they would do “action drills” to prepare, court records claim.

‘If It’s One It’s All’

In subsequent recordings, Kelley told the witness if he was extradited to Washington or if they did not hear from him for 24 to 48 hours, to start the attack at the FBI office, specifically the Knoxville field office.

Kelley allegedly said the two needed to “recruit as many as you can” and to make “every hit” hurt.

He told the witness he would do the same thing as a course of action if Carter or the witness were arrested.

“You guys are taking them out at their office,” Kelley allegedly said in the recording. “What you and Austin need to do is recruit as many as you can, call who you need to, and you’re going to attack their office. If the same thing happens to any of you guys, I’m doing the same thing, okay? Once you guys have enough people ... you don’t have time to train or coordinate, but every hit has to hurt, every hit has to hurt.”

Carter told the witness in a follow-up recording, “We might end up with different ideas on how we go about it, but I think the idea is, if it’s one it’s all, and if it’s all it’s going to be none.”

The witness then asked if Carter was in, to which he allegedly replied, “If you are I am, because I’ve been in on this for a minute now. ... This is the time, add up or put up. ... Definitely make sure you got everything racked, locked up, and loaded.”

The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is seen outside of its headquarters in Washington on Aug. 15, 2022. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

In a press release, Carrico said the FBI “continually assesses the full spectrum of potential threats that come to our attention and that includes those whose intent is to harm bureau employees. We remind the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity regardless of the intended target.”

The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by officials from the counterterrorism section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The men have a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 3.