A UCLA graduate student who took part in last summer’s Charlottesville riots is under an ongoing investigation by the university after being identified in early July.

ProPublica and Frontline found a video of Michael Miselis, an aerospace engineering doctoral student, beating an unidentified African-American man at the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in August 2017.

ProPublica and Frontline also confirmed Miselis is part of the Rise Above Movement, a Southern California white supremacy group that also participated in violent rallies in Berkeley.

Dean Jayathi Murthy of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science said in a statement that she rejects all acts of hatred, racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance. She added that while the school will honor the right to free speech, it will not condone violence against others in any form as an expression of those rights.

Murthy added that the allegations that have come to light regarding Miselis are being reviewed by the university.

Miselis has not registered for the fall 2018 term, according to the engineering school. Student privacy laws prevent the school and the university from providing any additional comment.

UCLA said in a statement that Miselis did not enroll as a student for the last quarter, spring 2018.

Miselis was also employed by Northrop Grumman, an engineering firm contracted by the Department of Defense. In order to work there, Miselis had to have a U.S. government security clearance, according to ProPublica and Frontline. Northrop Grumman announced in early July that Miselis is no longer employed with the company.

“We do not tolerate hatred or illegal conduct and we condemn racist activities in any shape or form,” read the firm’s media statement.

Miselis did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Published by Megana Sekar

Sekar is a senior staff reporter for the national news and higher education beat. She was previously the 2018-2019 assistant news editor for the national and higher education beat and a news contributor before that. Sekar is a third-year political science and economics student and enjoys dogs, dancing, and dessert.

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9 Comments

  1. Talk about a witch hunt… A university that will actively pursue and attempt to rehabilitate hard core gang members at their institution is taking a hard stance w/ an engineer who got involved in a scuffle at a rally.. Would they take the same stance w/ a liberal leftist who got tangled in a brawl at an occupy___ protest??? I can promise you one thing… I can name hundreds of current students who have and not a single mention has been made of them… WHAT HYPOCRITES…

      1. Last time I checked… my little immigrant community wasn’t under siege from racist UCLA Phd students but it was under siege from blk/latino gang members…. #StupidLiberalLogic

        1. No. Your little immigrant community is under attack by hipsters and politicians looking to screw the working people in these neighborhoods. The PhD students become the lawmakers that perpetuates this practice.

        2. #FalseConservativeLogic Gangs are bad. You know who else is bad? RACISTS. PUNISH RACISTS ALWAYS. Racists form gangs and then attack innocent people, as evidenced by the STORY YOU JUST READ. RACISM IS CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR.

    1. the guy is in ‘rise above movement’ a self avowed neo-nazi organization. are you sure this is the hill you want to die on? defending self confessed nazis?

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