A "Jan 6" suspect who sued the FBI and campaigned for state assembly was elected vice chair of the Los Angeles GOP.
Siaka Massaquoi plans to use his position to raise the Republican organization’s visibility.
“We’ve got to show them who we are because in talking to so many liberals and having been one myself back in the day, I realize they don't know who we are so liberals are only coming at us from what they've been told from people they shouldn't trust,” he said.
FBI agents raided Massaquoi’s home after he attended the Jan. 6, 2021 rally at the U.S. Capitol in support of former President Trump. He was not arrested or charged.
“They put a gun to my head at 5:45 a.m. on June 10, 2021,” he said. “My life changed that day. I’m done with the Democratic party.”
Massaquoi, who is represented by Freedom Watch's Larry Klayman, subsequently sued in federal court to compel the FBI to return his electronic devices. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal Judges Mary Margaret McKeown, Kim McLane Wardlaw, and William Fletcher denied the FBI’s motion to dismiss Massaquoi’s Fourth Amendment claim.
“We grant in part and deny in part appellees’ motion for summary affirmance of the district court’s judgment,” the Nov. 9 order states. “We grant the motion as to the district court’s dismissal of the appellant’s First and Fifth Amendment claims. We deny the motion as to the district court’s dismissal of appellant’s Fourth Amendment claim without prejudice to appellees’ raising the arguments in their answering brief.”
The FBI filed its answer on Dec. 14, and Massaquoi's is due on Jan. 4, 2023.
On Nov. 8, Massaquoi unsuccessfully challenged Democrat incumbent Luz Maria Rivas to represent the 43rd Assembly District, which encompasses the San Fernando Valley, North Hollywood, Mission Hills, and Panorama City in Los Angeles County.
“There are Patriots/Republican groups all over California and here in LA that host car rallies and other events that we have to connect with,” he said
The Conservative Women’s Federation and the Patriots Precinct Project are just a few of the organizations that Massaquoi envisions partnering with to increase the presence of Republicans in Los Angeles.
“If we can't be a reality in the community as a group, like at an ice-skating rink, then there's no way that every two to four years you can come around as a candidate and ask constituents to trust you with the neighborhood,” he said.
The challenge for the actor and former college football player is finding innovative ways to mix Hollywood, which is largely liberal, with conservative politics.
“I want to bring some of the connections from the entertainment world that I've met and put on some quality productions that cater to those that have the same values because we don't have anything like that,” he said.
For example, on Jan. 22, 2023, Massaquoi and other newly elected officers of the LA GOP will introduce themselves at a Make America Laugh Again comedy show in Long Beach called ‘Takin’ Back The House.’
Other officers of the LA GOP include Chair Timothy O'Reilly, Second Vice Chair Patricia Kotze-Ramos, Secretary Arianna Assenmacher, Assistant Secretary Robert Rafii, Treasurer Keith G. Cascio, and Assistant Treasurer Karen Siegemund.
Massaquoi is a Prager U presenter and appears in an episode of Babylon Bee's 'Californians Move to Texas.'