A Trump appointee who was arrested after participating in the Capitol riot asked a judge if he could be transferred to a cell with no cockroaches

Yelena Dzhanova
·2 min read
capitol riot federico klein
A man who the FBI identified as Federico Klein in his MAGA hat, which he later removed. Department of Justice

  • Federico Klein, a former State Department aide who was arrested after the Capitol riot, complained of his cell conditions to a judge.

  • He said he had trouble sleeping because he felt "cockroaches crawling" all over him.

  • Klein is believed to the first Trump appointee arrested in connection with the Capitol riot.

  • Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

Related: Pro-Trumpers stormed the US Capitol

A former Trump-appointed aide complained to a judge about the roach-infested cell he's in after getting arrested for storming the Capitol in January.

Authorities arrested Federico Klein, a former staff assistant at the State Department after he participated in the January 6 insurrection, during which he had been "assaulting officers with a riot shield," an affidavit said.

He "physically and verbally engaged" with police officers and impeded them from doing their job, according to the affidavit. Klein was spotted in a MAGA hat and described in the affidavit as "resisting officers, attempting to take items from officers, and assaulting officers with a riot shield."

Since his arrest, Klein has been held in a detention facility but asked a judge to be moved elsewhere due to poor conditions.

"I wonder if there's a place where I can stay in detention where I don't have cockroaches crawling over me while I attempt to sleep," he said, according to a report from the Washington Post. "I mean, I really haven't slept all that much, your honor. It would be nice if I could sleep in a place where there were not cockroaches everywhere."

The judge, Zia M. Faruqui, told Klein in response that he would soon be moved to another jail in Washington, DC. Faruqui also said the conditions would be addressed at his present cell.

"Very well, I appreciate that," Klein said, according to the Post.

The Capitol riot left five people, including one police officer, dead. Members of the Proud Boys, which is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, were reportedly present.

Organizers were emboldened by Trump's urges to protest the results of the 2020 election with him, despite Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. While members of Congress were meeting inside the Capitol building day to certify the results, supporters organized an attempted coup and stormed the Capitol building.

Upon news that the riot breached the Capitol building, lawmakers began to shelter in place and many evacuated.

In the weeks after, insurrectionists scrambled to delete photos and social media posts proving their participation.

Klein joined the State Department in 2017 just ahead of the inauguration of President Donald Trump, according to a public database. He had a salary of $66,510.

He faces felony charges for his alleged involvement in the riot.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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