The FBI arrested Federico Klein, one of former President TrumpDonald TrumpHouse passes voting rights and elections reform bill DEA places agent seen outside Capitol during riot on leave Georgia Gov. Kemp says he’d ‘absolutely’ back Trump as 2024 nominee MORE’s appointees for State Department, on Thursday in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Samatha Shero, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington Field Office, confirmed the arrest to The Hill on Thursday evening, but referred additional questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
Klein’s arrest is the first known instance of one of Trump’s political appointees facing criminal charges in connection with the riot. It comes as some on the right seek to shift the blame away from Trump for the insurrection.
Trump was impeached for inciting the riots, but the Senate ultimately voted 53-47 to acquit him.
Over 300 people have been charged in connection with the riot that forced Congress to halt certification of President Biden
Joe BidenThe West needs a more collaborative approach to Taiwan Abbott’s medical advisers were not all consulted before he lifted Texas mask mandate House approves George Floyd Justice in Policing Act MORE’s electoral college victory and resulted in the deaths of five people.
News of Klein’s arrest was first reported by Politico. According to the news outlet, he was taken into custody in Virginia.
According to a financial disclosure published by ProPublica, Klein was appointed to the State Department on Jan 22, 2017 as a special assistant. Prior to his appointment, he worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign, and reported making $15,000 in income.
At the State Department, Klein was a special assistant in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the State Department, and was a “Schedule C” political appointee, Politico reported.
Klein’s mother, Cecilia, told Politico in a telephone interview that she discussed the Jan. 6 events with her son, and confirmed that he was in Washington, D.C. that day.
She told Politico that she came away with the impression that her son hadn’t entered the Capitol but couldn’t recall whether he specifically denied it.
“As far as I know, he was on the Mall. That’s what he told me,” Cecilia Klein told Politico.