A political appointee of former President Donald Trump’s State Department was sentenced to 70 months in prison on Friday for crimes related to his participation in the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
Federico Klein was convicted in July of eight felony charges, including assaulting a law enforcement officer and obstructing official proceedings.
DC US District Judge Trevor McFadden told Klein during Friday’s sentencing hearing that his actions that day were “shocking and horrific” and would have earned him a more severe sentence had he not been home for two years.
“This is a government of laws, not men,” McFadden said, noting that Klein has tried to reverse that axiom — and remains unrepentant, according to NBC News.
The 45-year-old Trump appointee, who was also convicted of misdemeanor disorderly conduct and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, must serve an additional 24 months of supervised release at the end of his prison term, according to the DC US Attorney’s Office.
Federico Klein, a former State Department political appointee of President Donald Trump, was sentenced to 70 months in prison in Washington, DC on Friday for his participation in the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. Klein was convicted by the FBI in July of eight felony charges, including assault law enforcement officers and obstructed official proceedings, before US District Judge Trevor McFadden handed down the sentence. James Keivom
More than 1,000 rioters were arrested for their attempt to stop congressional certification of the 2020 election, with about 400 subsequently receiving prison terms.
Federal prosecutors argued Klein was “likely motivated by personal gain – that is, continuing employment as a political appointee – when he attacked the US Capitol.”
“Hell yeah, I’m going. I’m a Trump appointee,” he said in a text message before the riots — and had also taken time off from his State Department duties to investigate allegations of voter fraud in Las Vegas.
More than 1,000 rioters have been arrested for their attempts to stop the certification of the 2020 elections, with about 400 receiving prison terms. AFP via Getty Images
Klein worked in the State Department’s Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs office from 2017 until he resigned from that position on January 19, 2021, the day before Biden’s inauguration.
He was among the first mobs to break through barricades and beat police officers on the Capitol grounds, then used stolen police riot shields to battle law enforcement as they tried to secure the entrance to the West Lower Terrace tunnel, according to the Justice Department.
Klein and a co-defendant, Steven Cappuccio, also led the mob in a “heave-ho” push against the Capitol Police in the tunnel, pinning an officer between metal doors and riot shields.
Cappuccio then rips off the police officer’s gas mask and apparently yells, “How do you like me now, f–ker?!” before hitting the officer with his own baton.
Federal prosecutors argued Klein was “likely motivated by personal gain – that is, continuing employment as a political appointee – when he attacked the US Capitol.” AFP via Getty Images
“You can’t stop this!” Klein even screamed at one point.
Cappuccio, 53, was also sentenced to 85 months in prison, with 24 months suspended and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution after being convicted of six felony counts, including assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, robbery, public disorder and committing an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds, the attorney general announce.
The pair had faced a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.
In court, Klein’s lawyer Stanley Woodward reportedly said prosecutors were too worried about the “publicity” of the case, saying Klein was the first Trump administration staffer to be arrested after January 6.REUTERS
Attorney Stanley Woodward represents Klein and Cappuccio and also represents Trump aides in connection with special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of the former president for allegedly maintaining national security documents.
In court, Woodward reportedly said prosecutors were too worried about the “publicity” of the case, noting Klein was the first Trump administration staffer to be arrested after January 6.
He said Klein also knows that violence is not an appropriate response to civil disagreements.
“We don’t need a 10-year sentence for Mr. Klein to deter people,” Woodward said. “He’s a changed man.”
Woodward declined to comment when contacted by The Post.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
