KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The federal trial of a Maryville man accused of plotting to kill FBI agents was abruptly postponed Monday.
Edward Kelley was set to stand trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.
But on Monday U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Varlan announced at a pre-trial hearing that a letter had been delivered to the court that might be relevant to the case.
The judge didn't say what information the letter contained; neither did the defense or the prosecution. The document has been sealed.
But defense attorney Mark Brown told Varlan the letter "opens up a lot of issues that I was not aware of or prepared for."
He said he'll have to investigate the contents of the letter to see how they apply to his client.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Arrowood said in light of the sudden appearance of the letter the government would not oppose a continuance.
Kelley's trial now is set for November 18 or 19. He's being held in the Blount County Jail awaiting trial.
Kelley took part in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The government alleges he clashed with a Capitol Police officer outside the building and then climbed through a broken window on the Senate Wing side.
Following the riot, Kelley was charged. That case is being prosecuted in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
According to the government, he then conspired with an area man, Austin Carter, in a plot to kill FBI agents investigating the insurrection, including agents working in Knoxville.
Carter signed a plea agreement in November with the government in which he said he was prepared to admit to conspiring to carry out the killings of FBI agents. Carter has yet to be sentenced.
The murder plot case is being prosecuted in federal court in Knoxville.
