Nov. 3 (UPI) — A former State Department employee who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots that resulted in the breach of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was sentenced Friday to 70 months in prison.
Federico Klein was found guilty of multiple charges, including assaulting police officers, earlier this year.
“Federico Guillermo Klein, also known as ‘Freddie Klein,’ attempted to, and did, corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, that is, a proceeding before Congress,” the Justice Department wrote in their indictment of Klein.
The Justice Department also says that Klein used a riot shield as a weapon to “forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, and interfere with, an officer and employee of the United States.”
Klien was appointed to his State Department position by the Trump administration and prosecutors suggested his desire to overturn the election could be related to wanting to keep his post.
In court, Judge Trevor McFadden told Klein that his “actions on January 6 were shocking and egregious.”
McFadden said Klien had “betrayed” his office by participating in the riot.
While prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 10 years, defense attorney Stanley Woodward had asked for a much lighter sentence.
Woodward suggested that Klein’s actions were the result of “a protest turned wrong.”
Security images released by the Justice Department show Klien pushing his way into the Capitol building wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.