Olympic Gold Medalist
Klete Keller Identified In Video from U.S. Capitol Riots: Report Sean Neumann
Olympic
gold medalist Klete Keller has been identified as having taken part in
the U.S. Capitol riots last
Wednesday, according to reports.
Keller,
a swimmer who won two gold medals on the U.S. relay team along with Michael
Phelps, was identified by former teammates and coaches via social media images
showing him inside the U.S. Capitol, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The
38-year-old was not seen committing any violent acts in the images, which were
taken during the pro-Trump siege on the Capitol building that left five people
dead. Video on social media shows a man that appears to be Keller wading in a
crowd of rioters who were being pushed out from the Capitol Rotunda by law
enforcement, inside the building.
The Times reported
a number of Keller's former teammates and coaches identified him in a video posted on
Twitter by a reporter from the conservative news outlet Townhall.
Keller
was identifiable, according to the report, because he was wearing an U.S.
Olympic team jacket and that his protective facemask — meant to be worn to slow
the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) —
was not covering his face.
The
video had reportedly been shared widely among the swimming community and
the Times reported that "several people" alerted law
enforcement after viewing the clip.
Swimming
news website SwimSwam was first
to report the news on Monday. The site reported that Keller's social media
accounts have been deleted but he was an "outspoken supporter" of President Donald Trump, according to his past posts.
Neither
Keller or his family responded to PEOPLE's attempts to reach them for comment.
Keller has not made any public statements regarding his reported involvement in
what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell later denounced as
a "failed insurrection" attempt.
USA
Swimming also did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Law
enforcement officials from the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of
Investigations gave a stern warning Tuesday that rioters who entered the U.S.
Capitol would be tracked down and charged.
"Regardless
of if it was just a trespass in the Capitol or if someone planted a pipe bomb,
you will be charged and you will be found," said Michael Sherwin, the
Acting US Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Keller
attended USC before making the Olympics team, swimming on behalf of the U.S. in
the 2000, 2004, and 2008 games.
He
won five medals during his Olympic career, including two gold medals as a part
of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay team, which included Phelps, Ryan Lochte and
Peter Vanderkaay. The team won the gold in Athens in 2004 and again four years
later, in Beijing.
More
recently, Keller was an employee for the commercial real estate firm Hoff &
Leigh in Colorado Springs, Colorado, The Washington Post reported. In a statement
to PEOPLE on Tuesday afternoon, Hoff & Leigh said Keller resigned from the
company.
Keller's
former teammates also confirmed the 6-foot-6 swimmer's identity to The
Post, based on images from the U.S. Capitol riot.