WASHINGTON » A top aide to congresswoman Michele Bachmann has been arrested and charged with thefts that took place in a House office building.

A spokesman for the U.S. Capitol Police says 37-year-old Javier Sanchez of Virginia was arrested last Thursday.

Sanchez was a senior legislative assistant to Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican. Her office is in the Rayburn office building, where police say the thefts took place.

Sanchez has been charged with theft of money or goods less than $1,000 in value.

Bachmann spokesman Dan Kotman says Sanchez was no longer with the office as of Friday.

A favorite of the tea party movement, Bachmann ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. She recently announced she will not be seeking another term in the House.