- Federico Klein, a former State Department aide who was arrested after the Capitol rebellion, complained to a judge about the conditions of his cell.
- He said he had trouble sleeping because he felt “cockroaches crawling” everywhere.
- Klein is considered the first Trump nominee arrested in connection with the Capitol riot.
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A former Trump-appointed aide complained to a judge about the cockroach-infested cell he is in after being arrested for breaking into the Capitol in January.
Authorities arrested Federico Klein, a former State Department staff assistant after his participation in the January 6 uprising, during which he had “assaulted police officers with a riot shield,” said a sworn statement.
He “became physically and verbally involved” with the police and prevented them from doing their jobs, according to the statement. Klein was seen wearing a MAGA hat and described in the statement as “resisting officers, trying to pick up items from officers and attacking officers with a riot shield”.
Since his arrest, Klein has been detained in a detention center, but has asked a judge to be moved elsewhere due to poor conditions.
“I wonder if there is a place where I can be held where I don’t have cockroaches crawling over me while I try to sleep,” he said, according to a Washington Post report. “I mean, I didn’t really sleep much, Your Honor. It would be nice if I could sleep in a place where there were no cockroaches everywhere.”
The judge, Zia M. Faruqui, told Klein in response that he would soon be transferred to another prison in Washington, DC. Faruqui also said that the conditions will be met in his current cell.
“Very well, I appreciate that,” said Klein, according to the Post.
The Capitol riot left five people, including a 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 encouraged by Trump’s urges to protest the results of the 2020 election with him, despite Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. While members of Congress gathered within the day of the Capitol building to certify the results, supporters organized a coup attempt and stormed the Capitol building.
After news that the riot violated the Capitol building, lawmakers began to take shelter there and many evacuated.
In the weeks that followed, the rebels struggled to delete photos and posts on social media that proved their participation.
Klein joined the State Department in 2017, just before President Donald Trump took office, according to a public database. He had a salary of $ 66,510.
He faces criminal charges for his alleged involvement in the riot.