A former State Department official was sentenced to almost six years in prison for attacking police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the Capitol, the Associated Press reported Friday.
Federico Klein, who was appointed by former President Trump, was allegedly part of a mob that outnumbered Capitol Police on the Lower West Terrace tunnel entrance. Klein then assaulted officers repeatedly, urged other rioters to join and tried to stop police from shutting entrance doors, prosecutors said.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced him to five years and 10 months in prison and said his actions were “shocking and egregious.” Klein will also have to pay a $3,000 fine and $2,000 in restitution.
The government sought 10 years for Klein, who was convicted of eight felonies as well as misdemeanor offenses in July, according to the Justice Department (DOJ).
Klein was among nine defendants charged in a 53-count indictment in July.
The DOJ said the former official yelled at officers in the tunnel, ignored commands to leave and attempted to grab a police officer’s riot shield. He then used his body to forcibly shove against police and used an officer’s riot shield to wedge a door open, the department added.
He “waged a relentless siege on police officers” as he tried to enter the building, prosecutors alleged.
McFadden told Klein on Friday that his actions prolonged the mayhem and that he was “front and center in that chaos.”
The FBI arrested Klein on March 4, 2021. The date at which he will report to prison has yet to be determined.
Klein worked in the State Department’s Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs office from 2017 until his resignation Jan. 19, 2021, one day before President Biden’s inauguration.
Prosecutors said Klein violated the trust of the American people on Jan. 6. His defense attorney claimed the prosecution was exaggerating his role because of his political connection to the Trump administration.
Klein also served in the Marine Corps for nine years. He was deployed to Iraq as a combat engineer in 2005.
He then worked for the 2016 Trump campaign and took time off work to travel to Nevada to investigate the former president's false claims of voter fraud after losing the 2020 presidential election to Biden, prosecutors said.
According to the AP, nearly 1,200 people have been charged for crimes related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. More than 800 have pleaded guilty or were convicted by a jury or judge after a trial.
