Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, was picked up Thursday on charges stemming from the Jan. 6 takeover of Congress.
The FBI on Thursday arrested Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, on charges related to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, marking the first known instance of an appointee of President Donald Trump facing criminal prosecution in connection with the attempt to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory.
Klein, 42, was taken into custody in Virginia, said Samantha Shero, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Details on the charges against him were not immediately available.
Klein worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and was then hired at the State Department. As of last summer, he was listed in a federal directory as serving as a special assistant in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and was designated as a “Schedule C” political appointee.
Klein worked for a time in the State Department’s Office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs before being transferred to the office that handles Freedom of Information Act requests, according to a former colleague who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
……..
The alleged presence of a Trump political appointee at the riot may tie those events more closely to the president, although there is already ample evidence that many of those charged were inspired by Trump’s false claims about widespread election fraud and by his call for supporters to descend on Washington on Jan. 6 for events that he promised would be “wild.”
Klein’s mother, Cecilia, said in a telephone interview on Thursday evening that she and her son discussed the Jan. 6 events a few weeks ago and that he confirmed he had been in Washington that day.
“As far as I know, he was on the Mall. That’s what he told me,” Cecilia Klein said.
She said she came away from the conversation with the impression that her son had not entered the Capitol, but she could not recall whether he specifically denied that. “I’m not sure he used those words,” she said.
Cecilia Klein, a retired trade official and economist, said she and her son rarely talk politics or discuss Trump because she and her son have starkly different views.
……..
- Discussion
-
Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, was picked up yesterday on charges stemming from the Jan. 6 takeover of Congress https://t.co/K6eMzt9MaZ
— POLITICO (@politico) March 5, 2021
A former member of the Trump administration is in jail facing multiple charges for his role in the Capitol riot.
Federal prosecutors say Federico Klein, a State Dept. appointee, was seen using a stolen police shield to pry open a door and later bashing officers with it. pic.twitter.com/ewX9qzLm6y
— Norah O'Donnell 🇺🇸 (@NorahODonnell) March 5, 2021
Executive branch employee leading violent attack on legislative branch. https://t.co/Z8LMfAuzha
— Seth Masket (@smotus) March 5, 2021
I wonder if the FBI and the DOJ will try to negotiate a deal with this fella in exchange for some evidence on the higher-ups who were actively involved in planning and executing the violent coup attempt.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.