UCPD arrest Congressional candidate for trespassing
By Jeong Park
June 3, 2014 2:45 p.m.
This post was updated at 9:45 p.m.
University police arrested a man who is running for Congress twice this week, both times for trespassing in the chancellor’s office in Murphy Hall.
Theo Milonopoulos, who is running as a write-in candidate for the 33rd Congressional District, which includes UCLA, said in a press release Monday night that he went to Chancellor Gene Block’s office to bring a complaint to the chancellor about an incident earlier that day.
In the press release, Milonopoulos urged the chancellor to intervene after a minister in Meyerhoff Park openly criticized the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and women.
Milonopoulos, 27, was first arrested about 3:30 p.m. Monday and booked an hour later. He was then released at about 6:30 p.m., according to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department records.
On Tuesday, he returned to the Chancellor’s office and allegedly made threats to office staff, said UCPD patrol lieutenant Russell McKinney.
He left the office at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, then returned several hours later and resisted when UCPD officers tried to detain him, McKinney said. Milonopoulos was arrested again, this time on a felony charge of resisting an executive officer, and was booked on $25,000 bail at about 3:15 p.m.
“From our point of view, when anybody makes any threats to the university, no matter how petty they think they are, we take them very seriously,” McKinney said.
Milonopoulos said in a press release that he was at Meyerhoff Park on Monday to announce the filing of a lawsuit against UCLA, which alleges that the university funded a campaign event Thursday for Marianne Williamson, another candidate running in the district.
UCLA officials have said that the university did not fund the event. The campaign event was also not funded by the Undergraduate Students Association Council.
Milonopoulos is being held at the Men’s Central Jail downtown. He will appear in court Thursday at the Los Angeles Superior Court Airport Courthouse.
Compiled by Jeong Park and Sam Hoff, Bruin staff.
