State Department security official charged in January 6 attack on Capitol
A security official who had worked as a contractor for the State Department was arrested Tuesday on federal charges in connection with his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, authorities said.
The employee, Kevin Michael Alstrup, was arrested in Washington on charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building; disorderly and disruptive behavior; and picket or parade in the Capitol, according to an arrest warrant which was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Mr. Alstrup's employment status at the State Department was unclear Tuesday.
In a statement about his arrest, a department spokesperson said that “the individual was an outside contractor providing uniformed officer services for the Department of State.”
No attorney for Mr. Alstrup was listed in court documents.
According to a 15-page affidavit filed in federal court, a device linked to an email address for Mr. Alstrup showed that he was on the Capitol grounds or in the building itself on the afternoon of January 6 found. media accounts led to his public records, including his driver's license in the District of Columbia.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it had discovered that Mr. Alstrup was “employed” by the State Department as a diplomatic security officer. As part of that work, an FBI agent wrote, Mr. Alstrup was “familiar with providing security and protection to high-ranking government officials or sensitive locations, such as embassies.”
The FBI also found messages Mr. Alstrup had posted on social media, placing him outside the Capitol that day.
Mr. Alstrup's supervisor identified him in photos taken inside the Capitol, where Mr. Alstrup spent about 28 minutes, according to the affidavit. also in the crypt in the center of the building before leaving through the Senate Wing doors.
While inside, Mr. Alstrup stood in front of a broken window and took photos of other rioters as they entered and exited the building, according to court documents.
After leaving the Capitol, Mr. Alstrup was also picked up by body camera footage from a Metropolitan Police Department officer, the affidavit said.
Mr. Alstrup is not the only person with ties to the State Department arrested in a breach of the Capitol.
In November, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Trump administration as a low-level State Department aide was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for his role in the attack on the Capitol.
More than 1,265 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states with crimes related to the Jan. 6 breach. They include more than 440 people charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement, a felony, federal prosecutors said.