A former Tennessee state senator was given a 21-month prison sentence Friday for violating campaign finance laws.
Brian Kelsey, 45, pleaded guilty to concealing the transfer of $91,000 from his state Senate campaign and $25,000 from a nonprofit group into a national political organization that went on to fund ads for his failed bid for the U.S. House. Kelsey had initially pleaded not guilty until his co-defendant, Nashville social club owner Joshua Smith pleaded guilty last year.
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“I’m truly sorry for the actions that led me here today,” Kelsey said in court. “I knew I was taking a risk, and yet I did it anyway, and in doing so, I broke the law.”
Kelsey attempted to change his plea in March to not guilty due to personal matters that influenced him to plead guilty, like the death of his father and raising his twin sons. Judge Waverly Crenshaw of the U.S. District Court in Nashville denied him the change of plea in May.
“I do think there’s a need to sentence you that sends a message,” Crenshaw told Kelsey in court.
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Kelsey served from 2009 until November 2022, including his failed congressional bid in 2016. Before that, Kelsey was elected to the General Assembly in 2004.
Kelsey will not have to begin his prison sentence until October.
