Holly MatkinWashington, DC – A former State Department aide has been arrested for allegedly taking part in the U.S. Capitol Building riot on Jan. 6.
Federico Klein, 42, was taken into custody in Virginia on March 4, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) spokesperson for the Washington Field Office, Samantha Shero, told Politico.
Klein is the first appointee of the former President to be arrested in conjunction with the U.S. Capitol riot.
He was a member of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign, and was subsequently hired at the State Department, Politico reported.
According to the State Department, Klein resigned from his position as a special assistant with the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs effective Jan. 21.
He was a staff assistant with former President Trump’s transition team when he first joined the agency, according to a State Department spokesperson.
Klein’s mother, Cecilia, told Politico her son is a U.S. Marine veteran who served in Iraq.
According to court documents, Klein held a top-secret security clearance at the time of the Capitol riot.
Investigators said in the arrest affidavit that two people contacted the FBI after seeing a photo of Klein on a bulletin issued two weeks after the uprising and identified him as the man pictured, Politico reported.
Bodycam footage showed the former White House aide jamming the Capitol Building doors with a shield while U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) were trying to lock the mob out, according to court documents.
The video also allegedly captured him encouraging other rioters to fight the officers, Politico reported.
“We need fresh people!” he yelled repeatedly, according to the affidavit.
Court documents further allege Klein “violently shoved the shield into an officer’s body in an attempt to breach the police line,” according to NBC News.
Klein has been charged with federal counts of assault on police officers, interfering with police during civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding, among other offenses, Politico reported.
He faces maximum sentences of 20 years in prison if convicted on the obstructing and assault charges.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged more than 300 people for allegedly taking part in the Capitol riot so far, according to MSNBC.
“The investigation into those responsible is moving at a speed and scale that’s unprecedented, and rightly so,” acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said. “Those responsible must be held to account, and they will be.”
