After fighting back attempts to drop his conviction, President Donald Trump”s Justice Department now wants a Jan. 6 defendant who was found guilty last year of plotting to kill FBI agents to spend the rest of his life behind bars — a request he says is based on “scandalous and unsubstantiated” claims and “uncharged allegations that have no relevance.”

Edward Kelley, 35, was convicted by a federal jury in the Eastern District of Tennessee last November on charges of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and influencing a federal official by threat following a three-day trial. The government filed its sentencing memorandum Tuesday and recommended a punishment of life in prison, blasting Kelley’s criminal conduct as being “unquestionably serious,” according to the filing.

“The defendant is remorseless,” the DOJ charged.

“From even before the instant offenses of conviction, through his commission of these crimes, up until and after trial, the defendant’s conduct demonstrates a fundamental absence of remorse, a commitment to continuing his criminal behavior once released from prison, disrespect for the rule of law, and a profound need for deterrence,” the government added. “Beyond merely failing to accept responsibility for his own criminal conduct, the Defendant affirmatively believes he is the victim of a crime apparently committed by the FBI, the United States, the trial witnesses, the jury, and this Court. Rather than evince a desire to rehabilitate himself, he appears proud of his crimes.”

Kelley’s attorney, Mark Brown, filed their response on Wednesday.

“The unsubstantiated and uncharged allegations referenced therein place Kelley in a false light and should not be part of the record in this case,” Brown said.

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Kelley, a Maryville resident, tried claiming earlier this year that his federal murder plot case and conviction in the Volunteer State were “related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” according to court documents. He filed a motion to dismiss his indictment and to vacate his jury convictions on Jan. 27, one week after Trump issued his executive order pardoning alleged rioters. The DOJ urged U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan to uphold Kelley’s conviction, condemning his claims as “wrong” and Kelley, himself, for having “no authority supporting his position.”

In March, Varlan — a George W. Bush appointee — agreed with the DOJ and rejected Kelley’s court bid to get his murder plot conviction covered by Trump’s pardon, saying “none of the substantive offenses or charging provisions overlap” in the way Kelley has claimed in filings.

“Motivated by a desire to initiate a civil war and to retaliate for his previous arrest, Kelley was committed to executing his plan,” the DOJ said Tuesday. “[Kelley] took steps to access weapons and ammunition. Although he claims to have gifted his weapons and ammunition to a friend, the evidence in the case makes clear his effort to ensure access to his arsenal in order to effectuate his plan.”

In his Jan. 6 case, Kelley was found guilty of three felonies — civil disorder, destruction of government property in an amount over $1,000 and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers — for storming the Capitol building and attacking a police officer.

Evidence presented at a separate trial in Knoxville, Tennessee, showed how he “developed a plan to murder law enforcement” while his Jan. 6 charges and trial were pending. Prosecutors said Kelley compiled a “kill list” of FBI agents and employees who were probing him and his Jan. 6 conduct, which he then distributed to “conspirators,” along with images of the targets. They described how Kelley planned “assassination missions” for each of his targets and talked about them with others.