- A UCLA student with a history of far-right online activities has been accused of breaking into the Capitol.
- Federal agents helped arrest Christian Secor, 22, with the help of informants.
- An informant indicated that Secor threw away his phone and boasted that he would not be caught.
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Christian Secor, a UCLA student who defended extreme right and white supremacist views, was accused by federal authorities for his role in the January 6 invasion of the Capitol.
According to court documents, informants shared information about Secor, telling the FBI that Secor got rid of his phone, moved into his mother’s basement and boasted that he would not be caught.
In total, 11 people helped identify Secor, 22, who broadcast the Capitol violation live and was photographed sitting on Pence’s dais during the siege.
Federal authorities in DC accused Secor of assaulting, resisting or preventing a police officer; violent entry and stay in restricted areas; civil disorder; and obstructing an official procedure.
On Tuesday, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told the Los Angeles Times that federal agents arrested Secor at his home in Costa Mesa.
Federal investigators said Secor founded an unofficial club called “America First Bruins” while attending UCLA.
According to Daily Bruin, Secor was active with Bruin Republicans until February 2020, when the conservative group declared that Secor was banned for “improper behavior”.
“What I can say is that UCLA believes that the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill was an attack on our democracy,” said Bill Kisliuk, UCLA’s director of media relations, in a statement. “As an institution, UCLA is committed to mutual respect, making evidence-based decisions and using rational debate – not physical violence.”
According to the testimony, Secor’s hateful views of immigrants and Jews were well documented by groups of students and on their social networks during their time on campus. On Twitter, he praised the 2017 white supremacy rally in Charlottesville and called fascism “epic”.
In photos and videos taken during the uprising, Secor was seen carrying a blue flag “America First”.
Secor also broadcast live from Capitol on January 6 under the nickname Scuffed Elliot Rodger – a reference to a 22-year-old who killed seven people at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2014.
“As a result of Secor and others pushing the double doors, the doors opened and dozens of other protesters stormed the building,” said the statement. “Capitol police were pushed by the crowd, sometimes trapped between doors and the crowd, and eventually pushed out of the way of the approaching crowd.”
According to court documents, FBI agents kept Secor under surveillance from 25 to 28 January before detaining him.