When you think about Olympic Swimming in the United States, there’s one name and one word that come to mind. The name is Michael Phelps, and the word is controversy. Phelps holds so many Olympic records it’s crazy. However, controversy surrounded images of him taking a bong hit. Ryan Lochte went off the deep end in Brazil. But now, there’s a new name to add to the list: Klete Keller.

The country is attempting to piece together what happened at the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. And since January 6th, law enforcement officials have been on the hunt for those who took part in the attack on American Democracy. As they scoured images and video, one six and a half foot man became quite noticeable.

And his Olympic jacket, along with his towering height, helped to give him away.

Klete Keller was a member of the US Olympic swim team in 2000, 2004, and 2008. He medaled at all three, and was part of an historic relay team alongside Phelps, Lochte, and Peter Vanderkaay. So, after representing your country on a global stage, how can you take such a turn that you’re charged with crimes against the US Government?

Many would hope to remember Keller at the moment he was able to hold off Ian Thorpe to win gold in Athens. Now it looks like he will be remembered as a disgraced former Olympian. One that will be charged with federal crimes after participating in a violent insurrection.

According to the New York Times, Keller has deleted all social media and resigned from his latest job, working at a real estate company in Colorado. Prior to removing himself from the Twittersphere, Keller was known to post pro-Trump rhetoric.

Many, including myself, view the current President’s supporters as unhinged and, possibly, uneducated. Folks who are somehow distanced from the reality of how our world works. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine how Klete Keller, someone who once quite literally stood on top of a pedestal, has fallen so far, while trying to pull our nation’s democracy along with him.