WASHINGTON —
A Marine Corps veteran who served as a State Department political appointee in former President Donald Trump’s administration was sentenced Friday to nearly six years in prison for attacking police officers during the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. of 2021.
Federico Klein joined other Trump supporters in one of the most violent episodes of the January 6 assault: the fight of a mob against police officers, who found themselves outnumbered in control of the entrance to a tunnel in the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol. Klein repeatedly assaulted officers, urged other rioters to join the fray and tried to prevent police from closing the front doors, according to federal prosecutors.
Klein “waged a relentless siege against police officers” as he tried to enter the Capitol and prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election victory over Trump, prosecutors said in a court filing.
Klein, who did not testify at his trial, declined to address the court before federal Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced him to five years and 10 months in prison.
“Your actions on January 6 were shocking and egregious,” the judge told Klein.
McFadden also ordered Klein to pay a $3,000 fine and another $2,000 in restitution. He will report to prison on a date yet to be determined.
Klein worked in the State Department’s Bureau of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs from 2017 until he resigned from that position on January 19, 2021, one day before Biden became president.
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 had received the trust of the American people and had an obligation to uphold the law. “He breached that trust on January 6 when he attacked the very country he was paid to work on their behalf,” prosecutors wrote.
Defense attorney Stanley Woodward has accused prosecutors of exaggerating Klein’s role in the riot because of his political connection to the Trump administration.
2023-11-03 23:55:34
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