(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Actor and conservative activist Siaka Massaquoi and his pregnant wife were traveling home from the premiere of Daily Wire’s Lady Ballers when FBI swooped in and arrested him for marching peacefully at Capitol Hill more than two years earlier on Jan. 6, 2021, according to Massaquoi.
Massaquoi, an official in the Los Angeles GOP who also had a role in the Daily Wire’s movie, said he was held overnight in jail and was informed that he was being charged with four misdemeanors in relation to Jan. 6.
His arrest prompted a public outcry online, including from Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
This has gone too far
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2023
The Justice Department has yet to make announcement about Massaquoi, and charges are not yet filed in the public court docket.
Massaquoi had his home raided by the FBI in June 2021. No charges were filed at the time, and he filed a lawsuit over the matter, claiming that the bureau was acting maliciously against him.
“Massaquoi has been targeted as a conservative African-American to try to bury the fact that Americans of all races and religions support the return of America’s governance to the people under the populist movement of Make America Great Again promoted by Donald Trump,” the lawsuit said.
Massaquoi said that special agents told him they were executing a search warrant on his home because he was in a Telegram group with Russ Taylor, who was charged with charged with conspiracy to disrupt an official proceeding in June 2021 for his participation in the Jan. 6 event.
“Thus, [the FBI] illegally and unconstitutionally invaded Plaintiffs home only because he belonged to a group on a communication platform,” he argued.
Massaquoi was not charged with any crimes, but agents took multiple computer devices during the search of his home, he said.
Even though the FBI has the ability to extract data from the devices and return them, Massaquoi said he still hasn’t had his property returned. Same goes for two of his Make America Great Again hats, he said.
“The fact that the [FBI] seized two red MAGA caps from plaintiff Massaquoi’s house further demonstrates that the actions are political and malicious,” the lawsuit said. “Massaquoi owning a MAGA hat is not useful evidence because of the sheer number of MAGA hats in the country.”
Massaquoi’s lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful, with an appeals court upholding its dismissal in August.
He’s a party to another Jan. 6-related class action lawsuit against the FBI, which was filed in late September. Some on Twitter suggested that his arrest was retaliation for suing the bureau.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
