Tennessee — A Tennessee man was sentenced to life in prison on July 2 in the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville, the Department of Justice released. Following a three-day jury trial in November 2024, Edward Kelley, 36, of Marysville, Tennessee, was convicted for conspiracy to murder law enforcement, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and influencing a federal officer by threat.
Evidence posted at trial and court documents show that Kelley was conspiring to murder several members of law enforcement, including FBI agents and employees, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Maryville Police Department, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, and Clinton Police Department. Kelley supposedly had a “kill list” that he distributed to his co-conspirator along with video images of his targets.
A cooperating defendant previously pleaded guilty for being involved in the conspiracy. The defendant testified that he and Kelley planned car bomb attacks on the Knoxville FBI office. He also said they made plans for how to kill FBI officers in their homes or in public places.
The United States introduced recordings of the defendant and Kelley developing their plans. In one video, Kelley was recorded saying, “You don’t have time to train or coordinate, but every hit has to hurt,” and “Every hit has to hurt.”
