NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – KESHAWN KELLY, age 20, a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pled guilty on June 27, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Greg G. Guidry to an  indictment  charging him with influencing federal officials by threat, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 115(a)(1)(B), and assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1), announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court documents, on February 15, 2022, KELLY initiated a 21-minute standoff with police in the emergency department parking lot at the New Orleans VA Medical Center.  During the standoff, KELLY possessed an AR-15 rifle that was fully loaded with a round in the chamber and the selector switch in the semi-automatic firing position.  KELLY, who continuously refused to get out of the car he occupied with his hands up, made various threats to shoot and otherwise assault the officers for the duration of the standoff.

KELLY’s sentencing is scheduled for October 3, 2023.  The maximum punishment KELLY faces for influencing federal officials by threat is six years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.  The maximum punishment for assaulting federal officers is one year imprisonment, up to a $100,000 fine, up to one year of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $25 mandatory special assessment fee.

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs Police.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney J. Benjamin Myers of the Narcotics Unit.