An East Tennessee man from Knoxville has been sentenced to life imprisonment following his conviction in a plot to murder federal agents at the FBI Knoxville Field Office. Edward Kelley, hailing from Maryville, Tenn., had his request to dismiss the case rejected by a judge earlier this year.

Kelley was found guilty of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit violent acts, and threatening a federal official. Authorities discovered that while awaiting trial for his part in the January 6 US Capitol riot, Kelley collaborated with another individual to devise a scheme targeting law enforcement officers probing the incident.

According to court documents, Kelley had compiled a “kill list” of FBI agents and related personnel involved in the investigation. His associate, Austin Carter, who admitted guilt in 2023, revealed that they planned to strike the Knoxville FBI Field Office with car bombs and “drones equipped with incendiary devices.” Carter’s testimony also detailed their intentions to target FBI staff at their residences and public venues like cinemas.

Kelley was convicted of 11 charges related to the Capitol riot before President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon more than 1,500 defendants. FBI investigators said he was one of the first people to enter the Capitol that day.

His appeal asserted that the conviction should be dismissed since President Trump’s executive action covered all charges “related to” the events of January 6, 2021. US District Judge Thomas Varlan sided with prosecutors who argued the pardon did not apply to criminal conduct that occurred in Tennessee more than a year later.