Florida man who stormed the Capitol thought he was inside the White House

A Florida man who participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has been turned in to the FBI by his family. According to the FBI, the man apparently thought he was inside the White House on that fateful day, Business Insider reports.

Kenneth Kelly, 58, of Ocala, Florida, was among a group of people who were breaking windows on the Capitol building as the situation began to escalate. A relative of Kelly’s mentioned in the FBI’s affidavit said that he sent them a text message with a photo showing him standing next to what appeared to be the Capitol building.

“Inside White house via breaking in windows,” Kelly allegedly wrote in the text. “Tree of liberty was watered today!”

In another text sent to another person, Kelly shared a photo of rioters climbing up the side of the Capitol building, writing: “Patriots stormed the White House, broke in while senate was in session…”

“Patriots took back our capital today,” he added.

Via FBI affidavit

A relative speaking to the FBI said Kelly had adopted “extreme” political views and had mentioned the QAnon conspiracy theory a few months before Jan. 6.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Kelly turned himself in on Friday and faces charges of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.