KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two East Tennessee men accused of plotting last month to kill FBI agents from the Knoxville office entered routine not-guilty pleas Tuesday afternoon.
Edward Kelley, 33, of Maryville and Austin Carter, 26, of Knoxville were indicted last month by an East Tennessee grand jury on a count of conspiring to kill the agents. If convicted of the count the men could face life in prison.
Kelley alone faces federal counts of solicitation to commit a crime of violence and influencing a federal official by threat.
Both men are in custody. They appeared in chains during Tuesday afternoon's brief court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill McCook in federal court in Knoxville.
Federal authorities portray Kelley as the leader of the conspiracy. The bid to kill the federal agents stems from his arrest for taking part in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, prosecutors allege.
Kelly got a list of law enforcement personnel who took part in the Capitol investigation against him. Kelley wanted to kill people on the list; Carter took part in conversations about the plan, federal prosecutors allege.
"Those plans included an attack on the FBI’s Knoxville, Tennessee Field Office," the U.S. Department of Justice alleges.
Kelley has a detention hearing before McCook on Jan. 10 to see if his status in custody will change. She's already declined to let Carter out, records show.
McCook set a trial date of Feb. 28, but that date likely will be reset. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Varlan will preside over the case.
Family members sat in the front row Tuesday behind the defendants as they spoke to McCook.
The magistrate judge previously appointed Josh Hedrick to represent Carter and Nicholas Wallace of the Federal Public Defender's Office to represent Kelley.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Arrowood is prosecuting the men in Knoxville.
Kelley separately is facing prosecution in Washington, D.C. on a slew of counts tied to his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 riot. The counts include assaulting or impeding an officer and violent entry of the Capitol.
