A suspect accused of participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and who's also campaigning for a California Assembly seat, has appealed a federal court’s dismissal of his lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigations for allegedly confiscating some of his belongings after entering his North Hollywood home.
Siaka Massaquoi, who attended the D.C. rally in support of former President Trump, alleges in his complaint that FBI agents raided his home on June 10, 2021, at 5:45 a.m.
“In a two-week span, we saw these mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo and the FBI knew each of those guys,” he said. “Yet, you came into my home when I am sleeping with guns drawn and a little battalion and I have only one shotgun just to exercise my Second Amendment rights. Something's wrong here in our country.”
Massaquoi’s Notice of Appeal was filed on May 4 with the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco after the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Judge Stephen Wilson dismissed his class action claim on Oct. 29, 2021.
“I feel like the judge hadn’t seen the footage because I never went inside the Capitol on Jan. 6,” he said. “I was standing in the archway. So, I don't know what evidence he used to make that decision. I never had a hearing or a trial and I haven't been charged.”
As previously reported in the Southern California Record, although the Hollywood actor was never arrested for attending the infamous rally, his laptop, personal computer, cellphone, and other devices were seized.
“The first time they ever responded to a request for my belongings, we had to threaten them with a complaint,” he said. “I tried to go to small claims court to request my stuff back but the small claims court said the government’s case against me is still open. So, as far as I know, they still have a case open on me.”
Larry Klayman in Boca Raton is Massaquoi’s attorney on appeal.
“How can I not get a chance to show the footage to the judge,” Massaquoi told the Southern California Record. “They are telling a story about me, but then I don't get a chance to even defend myself. We've seen this happen over and over with so many other people and then they're trying to come back and defend themselves after their story's already out there.”
The former college football player’s opening brief is due on July 7 and the FBI’s reply is due on Aug. 8.
“In this dark time, Americans just need to lean on our faith because whatever they're going to do, they're going to do it and, if we wait on them to act, it will be to our detriment,” Massaquoi said. “For every person, if you find some way to help the country or to help your community move forward, don't be afraid of what the response will be. Just do it.”
Massaquoi has parlayed his national prominence into a run for office as a Republican and he has big plans if elected.
“As a society, the church needs to come back into the forefront of our community and get communities together,” he said “They do that every Sunday anyway. So, if we can galvanize churches, then a lot of the uncommon sense policies we've seen going on will be addressed accordingly. I want to talk to the business owners around here. They've been hurt as bad as anyone else within the last two years and the parents. The parents are seeing their neighborhoods become more violent. I want to address that.”
On June 7, Massaquoi advanced out of the nonpartisan primary election for an Assembly seat representing the 43rd District in the San Fernando Valley, which includes Burbank and Glendale. He will face Democrat incumbent Luz Maria Rivas in the general election on Nov. 8.