Olympian Klete Keller Pleads Guilty, Admits Participation In Capitol Raid

U.S. Olympian Klete Keller admitted he spent nearly an hour in the U.S. Capitol building on January 6th, pleading guilty to felony obstruction of an official proceeding ... and now faces years in prison.

Remember, 39-year-old Keller -- a 2x gold medalist and former teammate of Michael Phelps -- was caught on video inside the halls of the capitol during the raid.

In fact, KK was wearing a Team U.S.A. jacket ... which helped others identify him once the footage was posted online by reporters.

Keller, who was hit with 7 charges stemming from the incident, appeared in person at a Washington D.C. District Court and pled guilty to the obstruction charge.

It's a charge that could carry decades in prison ... however, it's likely Keller ultimately gets sentenced to about 2 years in federal prison.

While addressing the court, Klete said he tried to erase all traces he was present at the raid, admitting he destroyed his phone and threw away the jacket he was photographed wearing.

Keller represented America as part of the U.S. Swim Team at the Olympic Games in '00, '04, '08. He was the anchor on the 4x200 meter freestyle relay team in 2004 ... and famously held off Australian superstar Ian Thorpe to narrowly secure the top spot on the podium.