Trump political appointee and Marine Corps veteran Federico Klein was sentenced to almost six years in prison for attacking law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Trump political appointee and Marine Corps veteran was sentenced Friday to almost six years in prison for attacking police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, .
Federico Klein joined other Trump supporters in one of the most violent episodes of the Jan. 6 siege — a mob battle with outnumbered police for control of a tunnel entrance on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. Klein repeatedly assaulted officers, urged other rioters to join the fray and tried to stop police from shutting entrance doors, according to federal prosecutors.
Klein “waged a relentless siege on police officers” as he tried to enter the Capitol and stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory over Trump, prosecutors said in a court filing.
Klein did not testify at his trial and did not address the court before U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced him to five years and 10 months in prison.
“Your actions on January 6th were shocking and egregious,” McFadden told Klein.
McFadden also ordered Klein to pay a $3,000 fine and $2,000 in restitution. He will report to prison at a date to be determined.
Klein worked in the State Department’s office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs from 2017 until he resigned from that position on Jan. 19, 2021, a day before President Biden’s inauguration.
Prosecutors said Klein’s participation in the riot was likely motivated by a desire to keep his job as a presidential appointee.
“As an employee of the federal government, Klein was endowed with the trust of the American people and to uphold the law. He violated that trust on January 6 when he attacked the very country for which he was paid to work,” prosecutors wrote.
