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A young Capitol rioter asked to be released from jail so he can take his final exams at UCLA

Mar 25, 2021, 22:18 IST
Business Insider
Trump supporters gather outside the U.S. Capitol building following a "Stop the Steal" rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
  • Christian Secor, 22, was arrested and charged with breaching the US Capitol on January 6.
  • He asked to be released from jail so he could take his final exams at UCLA.
  • Prosecutors argued he shouldn't be released because he owned weapons and had "ultra secret" plans.
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After getting arrested, jailed, and charged with raiding the US Capitol on January 6 alongside a large pro-Trump mob, one rioter filed a request to speed up the hearing for a unique reason: to finish his college exams at UCLA.

Christian Secor, 22, was arrested on February 16 and indicted on 10 separate violations by a federal grand jury after prosecutors identified him from tips and news reports showing him sitting in the Chair of the Presiding Officer of the Senate, where then-Vice President Mike Pence sat earlier that day to certify the election.

In filings presented in court on March 16, Secor's lawyer argued that as a first-time offender he should be able to return to university to complete his final exams. In response, US prosecutors pointed to text messages recovered from a phone that Secor destroyed after breaching the Capitol.

In the texts, it appears that Secor texted an unknown number, asking if they wanted to "hang out" and discuss "future operations." The message's recipient agreed, but declined to expand more over text message as it was "being kept ultra secret."

Text messages from Christian Secor's phone that US prosecutors argue are grounds to keep him detained.US Department of Justice

In addition to the texts, prosecutors said knives, mace, and a legally-registered .22 caliber rifle were found in Secor's home as well as a "ghost gun," or a privately manufactured firearm that cannot be traced. When searching through the contents of a GoPro camera discovered at his home, investigators found footage of Secor holding an "AR-style rifle" in the house that wasn't found at the scene.

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Furthermore, prosecutors determined that despite his pleas to leave to take his exams, he would be ineligible to take the test, invalidating the argument. Additionally, UCLA's registrar's office website says that the period for final exams has passed.

To learn more about the Capitol insurrection, Insider created a database to track every person charged in the events on January 6 containing the court filings of more than 375 Capitol protesters as of Thursday.

Expanded Coverage Module: capitol-siege-module
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