Yahoo Finance Ex-Trump official complains video of his actions at Capitol riot make him look bad
A former Donald Trump appointee has complained to a court that footage of him taking part in the US Capitol riots is making him look bad.
Federico Guillermo Klein was a staffer on the former president’s 2016 election campaign and a State Department official in the Trump administration.
Mr Klein was arrested by the FBI in Virginia in March in connection with the 6 January insurrection that saw Trump supporters attack the US Capitol.
Five people, including a police officer, died when the pro-Trump crowd breached the Capitol building after the then-president gave a “Stop the Steal” rally outside the White House.
Mr Trump’s false claims about having the 2020 election stolen from him by widespread voter fraud were thrown out of courts, including the US Supreme Court.
Investigators say that Mr Klein was captured on police body camera video at the Lower West Terrace of the building.
Court charging documents state that he “violently shoved a riot shield that apparently had been taken from an officer, towards the officers trying to stop the mob from gaining access to the building.”
And it added that Mr Klein allegedly “pushed the riot shield in between the doors to the Capitol, preventing officers from closing the doors.”
Mr Klein’s lawyers have now filed a request with the US District Court in Washington DC, asking a judge to reject media requests for access to the video.
“Even were the Court to conclude that it is in the possession of ‘video evidence’ that must be produced pursuant to Judge Howell’s Standing Order, Mr. Klein respectfully requests the Court exercise its discretion in rejecting this request,” the filing states.
“Mr Klein has been the subject of significant media scrutiny since his arrest and initial detention and has routinely been characterised in an unflattering manner, bordering a presumption of guilt in the court of public opinion.
“The release of the videos referenced by the Government will most certainly be prejudicial to Mr Klein in the preparation of his defence as well as in ensuring that an impartial jury can ultimately weigh the evidence in this case.”
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