22-Year-Old Could Get 34 Years for Alleged Role in Capitol Breach

Protesters clash with police at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

A 22-year-old student from Costa Mesa, California, faces up to 34 years in jail after being arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Christian Alexander Secor, an undergraduate student at the University of California–Los Angeles, was arrested early on Feb. 16 after federal agents executed a search warrant related to the Capitol breach, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told The Epoch Times on Feb. 17.

During the Jan. 6 vote confirmation, people gathered outside the Capitol began to scale walls, topple barriers, and occupy the building, with some engaging in violence.

The FBI began investing Secor after receiving images and videos from tipsters that appeared to show him standing on the floor of the Senate Chamber, according to an affidavit obtained by The Epoch Times.

The images also appeared to show Secor sitting in the chair of the presiding officer, a seat occupied by Vice President Mike Pence earlier that day, the document stated.

“These images were widely circulated via both mainstream news outlets and on social media platforms,” the affidavit said.

“In  the  media  submitted  by  individual  tipsters  and  reviewed  by  your  affiant,  the subject later identified as Secor can be seen wearing a red Make America Great Again hat with several stickers. …The subject is also carrying a large blue flag with ‘America First’ in white writing attached to a white pole.”

The FBI says it has identified a man in this image, taken during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, as Costa Mesa resident Christian Alexander Secor.

Video footage provided by U.S. Capitol police appears to show Secor walking through various parts of the building and, at one point, attempting to push through a doorway blocked by police, according to the affidavit.

“As a result of Secor and others pushing on the double doors, ... the doors opened, and dozens of additional rioters flooded into the building,” the document said.

“The Capitol Police officers  were  shoved  by  the  crowd,  at  times  trapped  between  the  doors  and  the  crowd,  and eventually pushed out of the way of the oncoming mob. Law enforcement’s efforts to keep out the additional rioters were frustrated by the crowd inside pushing on the doors, including Secor.”

Secor faces five federal charges, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, which carries a maximum eight-year sentence. (An enhanced version of the charge could result in a 20-year sentence).

Secor was also charged with civil disorder, which could result in a fine or up to five years imprisonment.

The third—and most serious—charge of obstructing an official proceeding can result in up to 20 years imprisonment. A fourth charge of entering and remaining on restricted grounds could yield a fine or up to one-year sentence.

The final charge of violent entry or disorderly conduct is punishable by fines and up to six months in prison.

The combined maximum sentence for all five charges is 34-and-a-half years.

Secor appeared in Santa Ana federal court Feb. 16 and was held without bail.

He wasn’t the first Orange County resident to be charged in connection with the Capitol breach. The FBI on Jan. 28 arrested Huntington Beach resident Mark Simon and charged him with being on restricted grounds, disorderly conduct, and unlawful activities on Capitol grounds.