Federal agents on Thursday arrested former State Department aide Federico Klein, a Trump appointee, on charges related to the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol.
Klein is the first member of the Trump administration to be arrested in connection with the insurrection, which led to the former president’s second impeachment and charges against over 300 people.
Klein, 42, whose arrest was first reported by Politico, possessed a “Top Secret” security clearance that was renewed in 2019, according to the FBI affidavit.
According to a court filing, surveillance video from Jan. 6 allegedly captured Klein attempting to enter a Capitol tunnel with a mob of rioters. Police body cameras showed that Klein “physically and verbally engaged with the officers holding the line, thereby affecting their ability to disperse the crowd.”
Don't Miss
Body camera and open-source footage captured Klein violently shoving a riot shield taken from an officer and “inciting the mob” — including by calling for “fresh people” at the front of the crowd — in his attempts to breach the police line.
Klein was charged with unlawful entry, violent and disorderly conduct, obstructing Congress and law enforcement, and assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon.
Read the FBI affidavit here.
