In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photograph, U.S. Capitol Police push again rioters making an attempt to enter the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Jose Luis Magana/AP

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Jose Luis Magana/AP

In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photograph, U.S. Capitol Police push again rioters making an attempt to enter the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Jose Luis Magana/AP

WASHINGTON — A Marine Corps veteran who served as a politically appointed State Department official in former President Donald Trump’s administration was sentenced on Friday to almost six years in jail for attacking law enforcement officials throughout the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the U.S. Capitol.

Federico Klein joined different Trump supporters in one of the crucial violent episodes of the Jan. 6 siege — a mob’s combat with outnumbered police for management of a tunnel entrance on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. Klein repeatedly assaulted officers, urged different rioters to hitch the fray and tried to cease police from shutting entrance doorways, according to federal prosecutors.

Klein “waged a relentless siege on police officers” as he tried to enter the Capitol and cease Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory over Trump, prosecutors said in a court filing.

Klein, who did not testify at his trial, declined to handle the court docket earlier than U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced him to 5 years and 10 months in jail.

“Your actions on January 6th were shocking and egregious,” the choose advised Klein.

McFadden additionally ordered Klein to pay a $3,000 nice and $2,000 in restitution. He will report back to jail at a date to be decided.

Klein labored within the State Department’s workplace of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs from 2017 till he resigned from that place on Jan. 19, 2021, a day earlier than Biden’s inauguration.

Prosecutors stated Klein’s participation within the riot was possible motivated by a need to maintain his job as a presidential appointee.

“As an employee of the federal government, Klein was endowed with the trust of the American people and to uphold the law. He violated that trust on January 6 when he attacked the very country for which he was paid to work,” prosecutors wrote.

Defense lawyer Stanley Woodward has accused prosecutors of exaggerating Klein’s position within the riot because of his political connection to the Trump administration.

“Accordingly, Mr. Klein should be sentenced for his actual role in the events of the day, and not the more egregious conduct of others with which the government would have Mr. Klein be found guilty by association,” Woodward wrote.

Prosecutors had beneficial a 10-year jail sentence for Klein, an Alexandria, Virginia, resident who was 42 years outdated on the time of the riot. Klein was arrested in March 2021.

In July 2023, McFadden heard trial testimony with no jury earlier than he convicted Klein and a co-defendant, Steven Cappuccio, of assault prices and different Capitol riot-related offenses.

Klein and Cappuccio had been amongst 9 defendants charged in a 53-count indictment. The choose convicted Klein of 12 counts, together with six assault prices.

Also on Friday, McFadden sentenced Cappuccio, 53, of Universal City, Texas, to seven years and one month in jail, in line with a Justice Department information launch. Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of 10 years and one month for Cappuccio, who was arrested at his dwelling in August 2021.

Klein and Cappuccio individually attended Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 earlier than marching to the Capitol. Klein was within the first wave of rioters to enter the tunnel, in line with prosecutors. They stated he pushed onerous in opposition to officers, telling them, “You can’t stop this!”

Klein additionally wedged a stolen police riot protect between two doorways, stopping officers from closing them, prosecutors stated. Video captured Klein encouraging different rioters to assault police, repeatedly yelling, “We need fresh people!”

McFadden advised Klein on Friday that his conduct “prolonged the mayhem” within the tunnel.

“You were front and center in that chaos,” the choose stated.

Cappuccio yelled, “Storming the castle, boys!” and chanted, “Fight for Trump!” and “Our house!” as he reached the Lower West Terrace. In the tunnel, he joined different rioters in pushing in opposition to the police line, prosecutors stated.

When one other rioter pinned Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges in opposition to a door, Cappuccio ripped a fuel masks off the officer’s face and dislodged his helmet, prosecutors stated.

Klein, who served within the Marine Corps for roughly 9 years, was deployed to Iraq as a fight engineer in 2005. In January 2017, he went to work for the State Department as a desk officer specializing within the South American area.

Klein additionally labored for Trump’s 2016 marketing campaign and took break day from work after the 2020 presidential election and traveled to Nevada to assist examine the baseless claims of voter fraud promoted by Trump and his allies, prosecutors stated.

Nearly 1,200 individuals have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 800 of them have pleaded responsible or been convicted by a jury or choose after a trial. Approximately 700 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving phrases of imprisonment starting from three days to 22 years.