Christian Secor: Ex-UCLA student seen sitting on Mike Pence's chair during Capitol riot gets 3 years in prison
WASHINGTON, DC, WASHINGTON: Christian Secor, a 24-year-old former student of UCLA and Donald Trump supporter has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for his role in breaching the Capitol in DC on January 6, 2021, with the aim to obstruct the congressional certification of President Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election.
A resident of California, Secor was sentenced on Wednesday, October 19, after he pleaded guilty to the obstruction felony back in May. He was sentenced by US District Judge Trevor McFadden, a judge appointed by former president Trump and who has handled several cases pertaining to the breach of the Capitol. While many defendants were acquitted at bench trials, Secor did not get a trial owing to his admission of guilt.
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California Man Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison For Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach https://t.co/UbXZXT3kYc @TheJusticeDept @FBILosAngeles @FBIWFO @cdcanews
— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) October 19, 2022
A plea agreement was chalked out and the government agreed not to prosecute Secor for several charges that were mostly standard misdemeanors. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old will spend 42 months in prison, and serve 36 months of supervised release as per reports from Law&Crime. Secor, the founder of America First Bruins carried an 'America First' flag inside the Capitol with other Trump supporters. Secor also sat on the VP Mike Pence's chair.
Brandi Harden, the defense attorney claimed that Secor's "participation was minimal, short-lived, and included no violence" and that the defendant would "forever regret" his decision.
"He joined the crowd without a plan and without any understanding of what was about to unfold," added Harden, alleging that Secor "was not the cause of January 6, nor was he in the classification of people that caused physical harm to the Capitol or others." Rather, the "former President, the ['Stop the Steal'/'Save America'] rally’s organizers, and speakers" were to be blamed for "contribut[ing] to the chaos."
“It was Trump supporters you losers, and you should be proud. One day accomplished more for conservativism than the last 30 years and all the normie [sic] have to say is denial."
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) October 13, 2022
DOJ seeks 4.75 years in prison for Jan. 6 defendant Christian Secor. pic.twitter.com/mJeJq3ITi6
Moreover, Secor, who was a student at UCLA and was expected to graduate in 2022 was suspended. Now his life has "turned upside down" after the "tremendous mistake." The lawyer also asked for Secor to be sentenced to community service, two years of supervised probation, and home detention instead of incarceration.
The prosecutors, however, felt the defendant deserved 57 months in prison. "Prior to January 6, Secor had several conversations via text message regarding what he perceived as a stolen or rigged 2020 Presidential election. On November 3, 2020, Secor sent a text message stating 'We’re gonna win bigly and if we don’t we’re taking this ship down in flames,'" read a memo from the prosecutors, adding, "On November 4, 2020, Secor sent a text message stating 'They’re cheating. Trump will pull through by legal or illegal means.'"
Even after the events on January 6, Secor took to micro-blogging platform Twitter to post tweets that read, "It was Trump supporters you losers, and you should be proud. One day accomplished more for conservativism than the last 30 years." He has since deleted his account.
