WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, a security officer who had been contracted by the U.S. State Department was apprehended on federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, as indicated by an arrest warrant.
The individual in question, Kevin Michael Alstrup, was taken into custody in Washington. The charges against him include entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in disorderly and disruptive conduct, and participating in parading, demonstrating, or picketing within a Capitol building, as per the details of the warrant.
The warrant was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. At the time of writing, no legal representation for Alstrup was mentioned in the court documents.
The New York Times was the first to report this development. A spokesperson for the State Department confirmed to the newspaper that Alstrup was a third-party contractor who provided uniformed officer services for the department.
According to the New York Times, the Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered that Alstrup was employed by the State Department in the capacity of a diplomatic security officer.
The assault on the Capitol in 2021 was orchestrated by supporters of the former Republican President Donald Trump. Their aim was to obstruct the congressional certification of Trump’s 2020 election defeat to the Democratic President Joe Biden. This attack was the culmination of weeks of unfounded assertions by Trump that he was the rightful winner of the 2020 election.
On Aug. 3, 2023, Trump entered a plea of not guilty to charges brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith in a federal court in Washington. These charges pertained to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Biden.
Since the Capitol attack, over 1,200 individuals have been arrested on related charges. Of these, more than 600 have entered guilty pleas, and over 100 have been found guilty at trial.
Uncaring: Not surprising, considering the chaos surrounding the events of January 6.
The previous comments are:
MysticMeadow: Uncaring: Not surprising, considering the chaos surrounding the events of January 6.
Joshua Walker: Disagree: It’s disheartening to hear that a security officer from the US State Department was involved in such a disturbing attack on the Capitol.