President Donald Trump’s longtime friend and appointee, Federico Klein, has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Klein was found guilty by a jury in April for obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and four counts of violence on Capitol grounds. He is the first person to be tried and sentenced for participation in the attack.
Klein served as a State Department appointee under President Trump, although the United States Attorney’s Office statement did not link him to Trump. According to prosecutors, he was armed with a stolen police shield and rubber pepper spray, and he actively resisted arrest while entering the Capitol building.
Before his sentencing, Klein’s attorneys had argued that the charges should be dismissed, claiming his political speech was being treated as criminal conduct. They argued that Klein, who had been born and raised in Washington, D.C. and worked in the field of foreign-affairs, should receive leniency.
Judge Randolph Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, disagreed, citing Klein’s “assaultive and threatening” behavior on Jan. 6. He sentenced him to 71 months in prison, far below the suggested 97-120 months, citing Klein’s service in the military and public policy studies in graduate school.
The Mueller grand jury had indicted Klein two years earlier for lying to special counsel investigators about his contact foreign nationals in opposing Trump’s election. He plead guilty and was sentenced to time served.
Klein is among more than 400 people who have been charged so far for participating in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors say he is the first person to be sentenced for the events that day, and the first Trump appointee to receive jail time for involvement in the insurrection.
President Donald Trump’s longtime friend and appointee, Federico Klein, has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Klein was found guilty by a jury in April for obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and four counts of violence on Capitol grounds. He is the first person to be tried and sentenced for participation in the attack.
Klein served as a State Department appointee under President Trump, although the United States Attorney’s Office statement did not link him to Trump. According to prosecutors, he was armed with a stolen police shield and rubber pepper spray, and he actively resisted arrest while entering the Capitol building.
Before his sentencing, Klein’s attorneys had argued that the charges should be dismissed, claiming his political speech was being treated as criminal conduct. They argued that Klein, who had been born and raised in Washington, D.C. and worked in the field of foreign-affairs, should receive leniency.
Judge Randolph Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, disagreed, citing Klein’s “assaultive and threatening” behavior on Jan. 6. He sentenced him to 71 months in prison, far below the suggested 97-120 months, citing Klein’s service in the military and public policy studies in graduate school.
The Mueller grand jury had indicted Klein two years earlier for lying to special counsel investigators about his contact foreign nationals in opposing Trump’s election. He plead guilty and was sentenced to time served.
Klein is among more than 400 people who have been charged so far for participating in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors say he is the first person to be sentenced for the events that day, and the first Trump appointee to receive jail time for involvement in the insurrection.
