U.S. District Judge Richard Leon sentenced Keller to 3 years of probation, together with six months of home detention, and ordered him to carry out 360 hours of group service — at a price of 10 hours per thirty days that he’s underneath courtroom supervision.

Keller informed the choose he knew his actions on Jan. 6 left lawmakers in worry and made it tougher for police to do their job.

“I have no excuse for why I am in front of you today,” he stated. “I understand my actions were criminal and that I am fully responsible for my conduct.”

A prosecutor, Troy Edwards Jr., requested the choose to condemn Keller to 10 months of imprisonment. Federal sentencing pointers advisable a time period of imprisonment starting from 15 to 21 months.

But the choose stated he believes Keller’s time might be higher spent chatting with youngsters and school college students about his errors — and tips on how to keep away from repeating them — than serving time behind bars.

“If there ever was a case that screams out for probation, this is it,” Leon stated.

During the Jan. 6 riot, Keller wore a jacket with an American flag on a sleeve, an Olympic crew patch on the entrance and the letters “U.S.A.” throughout the again. Prosecutors stated he tossed the jacket right into a trash can on his method again to a lodge and later smashed his cellphone with a hammer as a result of he knew he was “fleeing a crime scene.”

(*6*) prosecutors wrote in a courtroom submitting.

Keller’s lawyer stated he threw away the jacket out of disgrace after leaving the Capitol and encountering a younger boy and his father on a practice. The boy requested Keller about his Olympic profession and requested a photograph with him, protection legal professional Zachary Deubler stated in a courtroom submitting.

Keller felt that “he let this young man down by behaving the way that he did, and the moment that this young man and father find out what he did, their admiration for him would be shattered,” Deubler wrote.

Investigators by no means recovered the jacket or any cellphone movies or images that he recorded on the Capitol. Keller surrendered to authorities a few week after returning home to Colorado.

Keller has been cooperating with investigators since he pleaded responsible to obstructing the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Prosecutors pointed to Keller’s “substantial assistance” as grounds for leniency.

Prosecutors stated his early responsible plea “undoubtedly reached thousands of others weighing whether to turn themselves in, plead guilty, or even cooperate.” They added that his “public acknowledgement that his interference with the peaceful transfer of power was, in fact, a serious crime provided an important counterweight to the false narrative that January 6 was a peaceful, lawful protest.”

Keller skilled private and monetary issues after retiring from skilled swimming. After separating from his spouse in 2014, Keller lived out of his automotive for practically a 12 months whereas working three jobs to pay for youngster help and different bills, in line with his legal professional.

After the Capitol riot, he misplaced a job and common visitation together with his youngsters. Last 12 months, he signed the paperwork for his youngsters to be adopted by their stepfather, his legal professional stated.

“I hope my case serves as a warning to anyone who rationalizes illegal conduct, especially in a moment of political fervor,” Keller wrote in a letter to the choose. “The consequences of my behavior will follow me and my family for the rest of our lives.”

On Jan. 6, Keller attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally close to the White House with a pal earlier than marching with a crowd to the Capitol. He entered the constructing by an open door on the Upper West Terrace and remained inside for practically an hour.

Keller got here inside 50 toes of the Senate chamber, which lawmakers evacuated because the mob swarmed the constructing. Police officers needed to forcibly take away Keller and different rioters from the Capitol by the East Rotunda foyer.

Keller gained 5 medals, together with two golds, whereas competing for the U.S. at three summer time Olympics. At the 2000 video games in Sydney, Australia, he gained a person bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle occasion and a silver medal because the anchor leg of a relay.

At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Keller swam the anchor leg when the U.S. gained gold medals in the 800-meter freestyle relay. He and teammates Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Peter Vanderkaay narrowly held off a rival Australian crew. At the 2008 video games in Beijing, China, Keller gained one other gold medal in a freestyle relay.

Approximately 1,200 individuals have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Nearly 900 of them have pleaded responsible or been convicted by a choose or jury after trials. Over 700 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving jail sentences starting from three days to 22 years.