It is reported that the Olympic gold medal swimming champion with the Colorado Links was among the illegal crowd that stormed the U.S. Capitol building last week.
Klete Keller, 38, who won two Olympic golds as a teammate of Michael Phelps’s relay team, was identified by his former teammates and coaches as a member of the pro-Trump crowd who ascended the Capitol building during the violent protests, According to the New York Times.
A video posted online by a reporter from Townhall, a conservative outlet, appears to show Keeler towering above a crowd pushing and pushing with police officers who were trying to evacuate the Capitol Rotunda, The Times reported.
Several of his former teammates and coaches told The Times that they recognized Keeler in the video because of his size and because he was wearing a US Olympic team jacket that printed the USA logo on his back and under the sleeves. A green face covering is attached around his neck, making his face clearly visible.
Swimming news site, SwimSwam, first reported Keeler’s presence in the Capitol riots on Monday.
Keeler has worked in recent years as a real estate agent in Colorado Springs. His agency, Hoff & Leigh, declined to comment Tuesday.
A member of three U.S. Olympic teams, Keeler has won medals in three Olympic tournaments, including gold medals in the Athens Olympics in 2004 and at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 as a member of the 4x200m relay team. Won the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Games.
