Trump State Department official charged in connection with Capitol riot

Federico Klein, a Trump appointee with security clearance, is charged with assaulting police during the January 6 attack.

A former midlevel State Department official appointed by then-President Donald Trump was arrested on charges of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a complaint unsealed Friday, marking what appears to be the first Trump administration official to face charges for allegedly participating in the deadly riot.

Federico Klein worked in the State Department’s Office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs as a political appointee and held a top secret security clearance, according to the affidavit, which was dated Tuesday and unsealed after his arrest Thursday. He was captured in footage from surveillance and police-worn cameras during the riot physically and verbally engaging with officers trying to hold a line, the affidavit said.

Mr. Klein also worked on Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.

More than 300 people, including military veterans and some local police officers, have been charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot, ranging from trespassing to assault and conspiracy. Prosecutors and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents are still working to identify others involved in the attack, during which a mob of Trump supporters stormed the legislature as politicians were meeting within to certify President Biden’s electoral victory.

After a Washington, D.C., police officer told Mr. Klein and others to back up as the mob tried to breach a set of Capitol doors around 3pm., Mr. Klein instead “violently shoved a riot shield that apparently had been taken from an officer” toward the personnel who were trying to stop the mob, the affidavit says. He “pushed the riot shield in between the doors to the Capitol, preventing officers from closing the doors,” according to the court document.

Riot police push back a crowd of Trump supporters at the Capitol.

Minutes later, around 3.15pm on the Capitol’s west terrace, Mr. Klein allegedly “violently shoved” a police shield into an officer’s body in an attempt to break through the police line, the affidavit says. After officers pushed rioters out of a tunnel entrance to the Capitol, one officer was dragged into the crowd. As his colleagues tried to retrieve him, one officer shouted, “Move, move!” to which Mr. Klein allegedly responded, “No way.” Mr. Klein was employed at the State Department on Jan. 6 and resigned on Jan. 19, ahead of Mr. Biden’s inauguration, according to the affidavit, which was dated Tuesday. He was pictured in several videos at the Capitol wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, a Trump campaign hallmark. A State Department representative couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

A former State Department colleague identified Mr. Klein in photos from the riot, and a cellphone associated with Mr. Klein was found in the vicinity of the Capitol, the affidavit said.

Mr. Klein was arrested on Thursday and was scheduled to appear in court later Friday on charges of assaulting officers, including with a dangerous weapon, and of obstructing Congress and law enforcement, among other counts. He couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, and no lawyer representing him could immediately be identified.

Dow Jones