Klein worked for a time in the State Department’s Office for Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs before being transferred to the office that handles requests for freedom of information, according to a former colleague who expressed the condition of anonymity.
According to Trump’s 2016 campaign, Klein – also known as Freddie – worked as a “technical analyst” according to the Federal Election Commission. He earned $ 15,000 there, according to a financial disclosure he submitted when he joined the State Department. The FEC records show that he paid an extra $ 5,000 in 2017.
A person of the same name also worked briefly on Capitol Hill about two decades ago, for the House Small Business Committee and as an intern for Senator George Allen (R-Va.).
The alleged presence of a political appointment by Trump during the riot may link these events closer to the president, although there is already ample evidence that many of the accused were inspired by Trump’s false allegations of widespread election fraud and by his appeal to supporters to to descend. at Washington on January 6 for events he promised would be ‘wild’.
Klein’s mother, Cecilia, said in a telephone interview on Thursday night that she and her son discussed the events of January 6 a few weeks ago and confirmed that he was in Washington that day.
‘As far as I know, he was at the Mall. That is what he told me, “said Cecilia Klein.
According to her, she came out of the conversation with the impression that her son did not enter the Capitol, but she could not remember whether he specifically denied it. “I’m not sure he used those words,” she said.
Cecilia Klein, a retired commercial official and economist, said she and her son rarely talk politics or discuss Trump because she and her son have completely different opinions.
‘Fred’s politics is burning a little hot,’ she said, ‘but I never knew him to break the law. … While I believe, as he said, he was at the Mall that day, I have no evidence, nor will I ever ask him unless he tells me where he was after he was in the Mall. ‘
Federico Klein served as a Marine in Iraq, his mother said. According to his LinkedIn page, he had a top secret clearance from 2014 to 2019.
Prior to joining the Trump campaign in 2016, he worked as a researcher for the Conservative Family Research Council and served as a delegate to the Republican State Convention in Virginia, according to his LinkedIn page. He studied at George Mason University in 2002.
Klein did not respond to the voicemail and text messages on Thursday.
More than 300 people have now been indicted in federal court for events related to the January 6 riot at the Capitol. The charges range from offenses, such as entering a restricted area, obstructing Congress and assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon.
Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.