Des Moines, Iowa — An Iowa man previously charged in connection with his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, was arraigned Tuesday on a new federal indictment that includes a felony count that could carry up to 20 years in prison. KCCI reports 36-year-old Leo Christopher Kelly, of Cedar Rapids, who has been free on pretrial release, appeared via video for his arraignment. His attorney, Kira West, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

The most serious of the seven charges Kelly faces is obstruction of an official proceeding. Two other charges of entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct in a restricted building carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The remaining charges are misdemeanors carrying up to six months in prison.

A plea agreement apparently is no longer under consideration, according to the information that prosecutor Michael Gordon James provided Judge Royce Lamberth during the hearing. James said “The parties have discussed a negotiated plea but that will not occur in this case so this matter should be set for trial.” Lamberth said he will set at trial date later. He scheduled a status update hearing for Feb. 25.

Kelly was arrested in Iowa on Jan. 18 after participating in an internet interview with members of an anti-abortion organization. Kelly said he followed the Jan. 6 crowd into the U.S. Senate chamber, where he said he remained for 30 minutes to an hour. Kelly said he was caught up in the moment, but that he wasn’t armed and didn’t vandalize anything.

He was released Jan. 19 by a federal magistrate who noted his extremely limited criminal history. Federal prosecutors issued a new indictment on Dec. 3rd.

Area News, broadcast at 7:08-a.m., with Ric Hanson.

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(Bartlett, Iowa) – The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports the Fremont County K9 Unit, Tuesday, stopped a vehicle at the intersection of Waubonsie Ave and Bluff Road, near Bartlett. The driver, 29-year-old Ambriea Chandler, of Sidney, had an active Fremont County warrant for Theft 4th Degree. The warrant was in connection to a stolen cell phone at a business in Sidney on December 9th.

During the arrest, the Fremont County K9 “Roby” was deployed for a narcotics sniff. A subsequent search uncovered methamphetamine. Chandler was being held at the Fremont County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Ambriea Chandler

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a man for OWI, Tuesday night. Authorities say at around 10:36-p.m., 49-year-old Vincent Matthew Kesterson, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 2300 block of N. Broadway Street, for OWI/1st offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Maquoketa, Iowa) – A single-vehicle accident early this (Wednesday) morning in eastern Iowa resulted in a death. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2006 Ford 500 was northbound in the 7700 block of 435th Avenue in Jackson County, when the vehicle went out of control and entered the west ditch. The accident happened at around 12:40-a.m., north of Preston.

The person was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene. Their name was withheld, pending notification of family.  The crash remains under investigation.

(Cromwell, Iowa) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported after an SUV struck a deer Tuesday evening, west of Cromwell. The 2021 Jeep Gladiator Mojave driven by 51-year-old Timothy Alan Weeks, of Prescott, was westbound on 180th Street at around 5:37-p.m., when a deer ran out of a ditch and onto the road. Weeks dragged the deer off of the road after it was struck, and was able to drive his vehicle away from the scene.

The SUV sustained an estimated $8,000 damage.

(Radio Iowa) – Adventureland — the family-owned amusement park in Altoona, Iowa — has been sold to the subsidiary of an international company. Adventureland opened in 1974 and has 100 rides today. According to a news release from the City of Altoona, the new owners plan to add 10 new rides in the next two years. Palace Entertainment is based in Pennsylvania and operates two dozen entertainment venues in the United States, including Noah’s Ark Waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells. It’s part of a global chain based in Spain.

The Adventureland property includes a hotel, water park and campgrounds and is valued at 24 million dollars by the Polk County Assessor. The terms of the sale to Palace Entertainment were not disclosed. A spokesman for the company told The Des Moines Register he could not comment on whether liability for a lawsuit over an accident in the park this summer would transfer to the new owner. The family of a boy who drowned in the now-closed “Raging River” ride have accused Adventureland of negligence.

(Radio Iowa) – U.S. Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer — a Democrat who hopes to challenge Republican Chuck Grassley in 2022 — says the Senate is broken and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s “no” on President Biden’s Build Back Better initiative is a symptom of the problem.

“After watching Manchin, after watching some of these senators — both Democrats and Republicans — who have been in D.C. for way too long, who have clearly lost sight and lost touch with what is happening with the American people and what is happening in their pocketbooks, I am more fired up than ever,” Finkenauer says. Finkenauer says Iowans are feeling the pinch from inflation and disruptions in the supply chain.

Finkenauer suggests federal properties should be used to temporarily store cargo containers that are stacked up at U.S. ports — so more containers can be transferred from ships to the docks. “That could be very tangible, very quickly,” Finkenauer says. Finkenauer says President Biden should invoke the Defense Production Act to fill orders for some of the small components that are needed to keep American manufacturing lines running, but which are primarily made in other countries and shipped here.

“We do have the ability and some of the greatest workforce in the entire world, obviously, to be able to deal with some of this,” Finkenauer says. “We just need to do it.” Finkenauer also says congress should pass a law requiring ships that cargo at U.S. ports to — in most instances — load back up with American goods and commodities before leaving.  “Cutting down on the anti-competitive shipping industry practices,” Finkenauer says, “making sure that when these ships come in, they’re not leaving empty handed, without American goods.”

A recent analysis indicated the majority of containers unloaded in the nine largest U.S. ports were empty when placed back on ships that sailed out for foreign destinations. Ag groups and manufacturers say it’s having a big impact on U.S. exports. Finkenauer is among four Democrats say they intend to compete in next June’s primary for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination.

(Radio Iowa) – Three Democrats in the Iowa Senate are proposing a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana possession in Iowa for anyone who’s 21 or older. Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, says it’s time to regulate marijuana like alcohol. “Marijuana prohibition has been a costly failure,” Bolkcom says. “It’s ending across America because it’s caused far more harm than good,” Bolkcom says. “…Basically begin to treat marijuana like we treat a six-pack of beer.”

Bolkcom cites statistics indicating more than 43-hundred Iowans were convicted of marijuana possession in 2020 — and he says taxpayers paid millions to cover the costs of their prison time. “A lot of Iowans will see some benefit from essentially eradicating those expenses from our tax bills,” Bolkcom says. Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says polls show a majority of Iowans support legalizing marijuana rather than continuing to pursue criminal charges against those who smoke or possess it.

“Iowans are tired of filling our prisons with nonviolent offenders, traumatizing families with separation and taking away opportunities for too many young adults for something that is legal is nearly half the states in our country.” Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says 19 states now let residents use marijuana for a wide range of medical conditions or for recreational use.

“The world is changing around us and Iowa is getting left behind,” Trone-Garriott says. The three Democrats say Governor Kim Reynolds and Republicans who control a majority of seats in the legislature have resisted expansion of Iowa’s very limited medical marijuana program. Bolkcom says under current law, the cannabis products available today in Iowa have T-H-C levels that make them ineffective as medicine.

“It’s time for Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans to allow voters the freedom to decide,” Bolkcom says. “It’s time to hear their voices and bring marijuana reform to Iowa.” It takes years to amend the Iowa Constitution and this proposal faces a tough road ahead in a Republican-led legislature. The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says he has no intentions of bringing the proposal up for a vote.

Senator Brad Zaun of Urbandale says proposing recreational marijuana in Iowa is a gimmick and it shows Senate Democrats lack ideas to solve the problems Iowans face.

(Harlan, Iowa) – Officials with the Harlan Police Department, Tuesday, said two arrests took place over the past week, and they issued a reminder to citizens of the community, about dog tags.

Authorities say 2022 Dog Tags are available for purchase. Cost of the tag is still $10 per animal, and proof of rabies is required. Reminder that the tags are good for the calendar year that they were issued (January through December) not one year from the date they were issued. All animals are due to be renewed by January, regardless of the date you licensed your pet.

With regard to arrests: On Saturday (12/18), 40-year-old Christy Lynn Horschar, of Omaha, NE, was arrested following a traffic stop. Horschar was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with prohibited acts penalties, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to have a valid DL.

And, on Dec. 14th, 35-year-old Phillip Michael Houston, of Walnut, was arrested in Harlan on an active Pottawattamie County warrant.