Klein worked for a while at the State Department’s Office of Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs before being transferred to the office that handles requests for the Freedom of Information Act, according to a former colleague who spoke on condition of anonymity .
In Trump’s 2016 campaign, Klein – also known as Freddie – worked as a “technology analyst”, according to the records of the Federal Electoral Commission. He earned $ 15,000 there, according to a financial statement he submitted when he joined the State Department. He received an additional $ 5,000 for the campaign in 2017, FEC records show.
An individual with the same name also worked briefly on Capitol Hill, about two decades ago, for the Chamber’s Small Business Committee and as an intern for Senator George Allen (R-Va.).
The alleged presence of a Trump political appointee in the riot may link these events more closely to the president, although there is already ample evidence that many of the accused were inspired by Trump’s false allegations of widespread electoral fraud and his call for supporters went down to Washington on Jan. 6 for events he promised would be “wild”.
Klein’s mother, Cecilia, said in a telephone interview Thursday night that she and her son discussed the events of January 6 a few weeks ago and that he confirmed that he was in Washington that day.
“As far as I know, he was at the mall. That’s what he told me, ”said Cecilia Klein.
She said she left the conversation with the impression that her son had not entered 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 business employee and economist, said she and her son rarely talk about politics or discuss Trump because she and her son have totally different views.
“Fred’s policy burns a little bit,” she said, “but I’ve never seen him break the law. (…) Although I believe, as he said, that 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 at the mall ”.
Federico Klein served as a marine in Iraq, his mother said. He had a top secret authorization from 2014 to 2019, issued by the Department of Defense, according to his LinkedIn page.
Before joining the 2016 Trump campaign, Klein worked as a researcher for the conservative Family Research Council and served as a Republican delegate at the Virginia state convention, according to his LinkedIn page. He graduated from George Mason University in 2002.
Klein did not respond to voicemail and text messages asking for comments on Thursday.
More than 300 people have already been indicted in federal court for events related to the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. The charges in the cases range from misdemeanor offenses, such as entering a restricted area, to obstruction by Congress and assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon.
Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.