A Tennessee man, Edward Kelley, aged 36, has been handed a life sentence for a plot to carry out a lethal campaign against law enforcement, targeting the FBI among others. The sentence was delivered in the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville. Kelley was convicted on charges of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and influencing a federal official by threat on November 20, 2024, following a three-day jury trial.
Court documents and trial evidence describe how Kelley meticulously planned to take down agents, officers, and employees from multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. His so-called "kill list" of law enforcement and related videos were distributed to a co-conspirator as part of what he referred to as his "mission." This disturbing revelation was to quickly follow through on their deadly ambitions, even if planning and training could not thoroughly happen beforehand.
One cooperating defendant, who has already pleaded guilty to his involvement, gave testimony about Kelley's intentions. They discussed using drones with incendiary devices and car bombs to attack the Knoxville FBI office. The same witness disclosed strategies to assassinate FBI employees in places where they might be vulnerable, such as their homes or even public areas like movie theaters.
An official statement introduced a recording of Kelley as evidence. In it, he instructed an associate to "start it," "attack," and "take out their office" should he be arrested. "You don’t have time to train or coordinate, but every hit has to hurt," Kelley said, signifying an urge to strike swiftly and violently, per the U.S. Department of Justice.
The sentencing announcement came from Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Joe Carrico, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Nashville Field Office. The FBI’s Knoxville Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, spearheaded the investigation leading to Kelley's conviction and sentencing.
Trial Attorneys Tanya Senanayake and Jacob Warren of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, alongside Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey T. Arrowood and Kyle J. Wilson, represented the prosecution.
