MEMPHIS, TN- The former state senator of Tennessee, Brian Kelsey, is in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2022 to campaign violations.
He was indicted on five counts of violations in relation to his run for U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, and “pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the FEC [Federal Election Commission] and aiding and abetting the acceptance of excessive contributions,” according to WREG.
He pleaded guilty to his charges in November 2022 related to his attempts to illegally funnel money from his state legislative seat to his congressional bid in 2016.
In October 2021, Kelsey blamed the Democratic administration, “but when a co-defendant pleaded guilty the following October, Kelsey quickly did the same,” according to ABC News.
When he tried to retract his guilty plea, saying he was unsure and confused due to events in his personal life, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw denied the change of plea in May 2023.
He was denied again by Crenshaw when Kelsey accused prosecutors of violating his plea agreement, when the “judge responded that Kelsey has given an ‘unconditional admission of guilt’ under penalty of perjury,” reported ABC News.
Shanna Ports, Campaign Legal Center’s senior legal counsel for campaign finance, said this “[m]arks an important moment in reassuring voters that the justice system protects their interests and that elected officials are not above the law,” added ABC News, noting Kelsey is now an inmate “at FCI Ashland in Kentucky” after a 21-month federal sentence.
