Grand jury indicts man accused of shooting at Arizona DNC office
A man accused of shooting at a local Democratic National Committee Office and putting up anti-Democratic signs with razor blades and bags of white powder attached to them has been indicted by a grand jury on terrorism charges.
Jeffrey Michael Kelly, 60, was arrested for his alleged involvement in four separate incidents of political violence. Police have tied him to a series of shootings at a Democratic National Committee office in Tempe, as well as placing the razor-blade and powder-laden anti-Democratic signs in nearby Ahwatukee.
Prosecutors said they believed he was allegedly planning a “mass casualty” event in Arizona. A search of his home revealed 120 guns, 250,000 rounds of ammunition, body armor and a grenade launcher, according to prosecutors.
Kelly is accused of shooting at the Democratic offices on three different occasions between Sept. 16 and Oct. 6. He initially used a C02 powered gun before escalating to .22 caliber firearms, according to Tempe Police.
Over the course of the three shootings he fired more than 20 times, causing damage to the building late at night, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Police were tipped off that Kelly might have been involved after they released photos of his vehicle, which had been spotted stealing Democratic yard signs in 2022.
On Monday, a grand jury indicted Kelly on one count of terrorism, three counts of discharge of a firearm at a structure, three counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm and one count of criminal damage, all felonies. He is currently being held on two $500,000 cash-only bonds.
The indictment does not appear to include charges related to the signs police saw Kelly place in Ahwatukee near his home.
Last week, law enforcement officers surveilling Kelly saw him placing signs that read “Dems kill Jews,” “Dems Lie” and “Never Harris,” referring to Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. The signs had razor blades and bags of white powder attached to them with the message “biohazard” and “F*** you! Play stupid games win stupid prizes! Guess the poison.”
Kelly has only been charged with crimes related to the DNC office shootings, but could face additional charges stemming from the signs and powder.
Kelly is being represented by an attorney who uses a gun range that Kelly also frequents and has represented militia members before. During an initial appearance last week, his attorney argued that Kelly is a “sportsman” who owns a “multitude of firearms,” adding that they were all legally obtained.
The Arizona Mirror found a Linkedin profile that appears to belong to Kelly in which he said he worked for Honeywell. His attorney said he held top secret clearances for his job until 2020.
Kelly has also posted unfounded conspiracy theories on a Facebook page found by the Mirror. As far back as 2014, Kelly was amplifying the debunked and racist “ birtherism” claims about former President Barack Obama.
On Jan. 6, 2021, while rioters were storming the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election for former President Donald Trump, Kelly changed his Facebook banner to a “Stop The Steal” logo, the movement that pushed unfounded claims around the 2020 election results.
He also posted frequent pro-gun memes, including an Islamaphobic one, and his profile picture is an edit of the infamous photo of Kathy Griffin with the severed head of Donald Trump but replaced with Biden and captioned “this is still funny right?”
The Department of Homeland Security has warned that election deniers connected to the far-right may attempt to bomb drop boxes or commit other acts of violence in the coming weeks.
A probable cause statement against Kelly disclosed that he is also under two separate federal investigations. Among the evidence police uncovered are Google searches Kelly allegedly performed looking up the address of the DNC office. The police also noted that Kelly “has finances and resources to conduct further acts of terrorism” and frequently travels across state lines.
The car that Kelly’s attorney claimed he did not own was found on Kelly’s property, where it was covered in blankets. Police said it had been recently cleaned. Police also found two expired out-of-state license plates that were seen on the vehicle fleeing the scene.
Kelly also reportedly researched silencers and additional modifications for his weapons.
During their investigation, Tempe police found spent ammunition in Kelly’s trash that matched the caliber of rounds fired at the DNC office.
Kelly is set to appear before the court this week.