Suit asks court to declare Ryan Kelley an 'insurrectionist' ineligible to run for office

LANSING — An Oakland County man filed a lawsuit Thursday to keep GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley off the general election ballot, saying his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol makes him ineligible.

Kelley is one of five Republican candidates for governor on the Aug. 2 primary ballot. Some polls have shown Kelley with a narrow lead in the race, since his June 9 arrest by the FBI during a raid on his Ottawa County home. Kelley has pleaded not guilty to four misdemeanor charges.

Lee Estes, a retired attorney, argues in a lawsuit filed in the Michigan Court of Appeals that Kelley is ineligible to run for office under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because he has "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S. after previously taking an oath to uphold the Constitution.

Attached as an exhibit to the complaint is the oath Kelley swore in 2019 to do just that, when he was appointed a planning commissioner in Allendale Township.

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“If you supported and participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection, you should not have the privilege of holding — or even running — for public office,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, a group that assisted Estes with research for the lawsuit.

“Whether it’s Ryan Kelley or anyone else that was illegally at the Capitol trying to overturn the will of the people, there needs to be accountability.”

In a news release, Kelley called the allegations in the lawsuit "laughable," and an attempt to deflect attention from other issues, such as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's "incompetent handling of the pandemic."

Michiganders "are tired of the 'insurrection' charade; they want real relief from the disastrous Whitmer-Biden policies," Kelley said.

Estes has made campaign donations to Whitmer and to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, both Democrats, records show.

Thursday's lawsuit may be the first in the nation attempting to keep off the ballot a candidate who has been criminally charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol.

There has been litigation involving the eligibility of U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican who allegedly showed support for the attack, but is not facing criminal charges, as Kelley is. Cawthorn lost his May primary, in any case.

Some legal analysts say the Amnesty Act of 1872, passed by super-majorities in both chambers of Congress to restore voting and other rights to most citizens who fought on the Confederate side of the Civil War, essentially nullifies the clause in the 14th Amendment that targeted Confederates. Others say the clause still applies to anyone who engages in insurrection after the Civil War. In the Cawthorn case, a federal appeals judge agreed with the latter interpretation, without ruling on Cawthorn's eligibility.

Kelley, 40, is charged with entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct, knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against a person or property, and willfully injuring property, according to a criminal complaint.

Generally, all of those misdemeanors carry penalties of up to one year in prison and fines of up to $100,000 on each charge.

Also on the ballot are Norton Shores businesswoman Tudor Dixon, Farmington Hills retired pastor Ralph Rebandt, Oakland County businessman Kevin Rinke, and Kalamazoo chiropractor Garrett Soldano. Retired Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who was disqualified from the ballot over fraudulent signatures on his nominating petition, is running as a write-in candidate.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.  Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter. 

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lawsuit: Ryan Kelley an 'insurrectionist' ineligible for ballot