Christian Walden spent years telling Florida conservatives they were the threat to children.
Days after being named chair of the Ways and Means Committee in FAU's student government, he allegedly drove to a Home Depot in Delray Beach expecting to meet a 13-year-old boy for inappropriate relations.
But an MMA fighter was waiting for him instead.
The Sting That Ended His Career at FAU
Walden's trouble started on Grindr, according to Palm Beach County court records.
He allegedly began messaging a profile he believed belonged to a teenager named "Justin."
The conversation moved off the app to text messages.
Explicit inappropriate acts were planned.
On May 26, Walden drove to the Home Depot on West Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach for the meet-up.
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Dustin Lampros was there instead.
Lampros is the founder of 561 Predator Catchers – a South Florida citizen operation that has been running predator stings since 2022 and posting every confrontation to YouTube.
The featherweight MMA fighter walked up to Walden in the garden center and started asking questions.
Walden said he was there to meet "this guy I met online."
Lampros pressed him on the boy's age.
"I think 14," Walden said – then admitted the boy had told him he was 13.
He calmly described the inappropriate acts he had allegedly planned.
All of it was on camera.
Walden told Delray Beach Police officers multiple times after his arrest that he knew he had made "a mistake."
He faces up to 15 years in prison on a second-degree felony charge of traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful act, plus additional charges for using a communications device to facilitate a felony.
He was released on a $25,000 bond.
The Résumé He Was Building While Allegedly Doing This
The story gets worse when you look at what Walden had been building at FAU.
He was editor-in-chief of OutFAU, the LGBTQ campus publication at Florida Atlantic University, and a student journalist for OutSFL, its parent outlet covering all of South Florida.
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He co-founded PRISM FL, Inc. – a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit he described as championing "inclusive, sex-positive education."
He sat on the executive board of the FAU College Democrats.
He testified at the Florida State Capitol against the removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
He authored a student government resolution condemning Turning Point USA at FAU for alleged homophobia – and repeatedly tried to push that group off campus.
In one OutFAU piece bearing his name, Walden wrote that "right-wing fanatics wish to silence and erase the LGBTQ community."
Days before his arrest, Walden posted to LinkedIn celebrating his unanimous confirmation as chair of the Ways and Means Committee – and his new role as treasurer of the Lavender Alliance at FAU, where he would be "helping create a safe, welcoming, and affirming space for the LGBTQIA+ community."
After his arrest, FAU's student government held an emergency meeting and voted to impeach and remove him.
The Man Who Testified Against Florida Parent Rights Laws Was Allegedly Driving to Meet a 13 Year Old
There is a pattern here that parents need to understand.
The people loudest about "child safety" as a political bludgeon against conservatives – against parental rights bills, against Florida education law, against any pushback on sex-positive content in schools – are not always who they present themselves to be.
This isn't complicated.
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Florida passed laws restricting what can be taught about sex and gender to young children.
Walden fought those laws.
Walden allegedly then drove to a Home Depot to have sex with a 13-year-old.
Parents in Florida were right to be concerned.
The volunteers who built 561 Predator Catchers operate legally – Florida law permits citizens to run these stings as long as they act independently of law enforcement and never suggest the illegal activity themselves.
Lampros has been at this since 2022, catching a Palm Beach State College security guard who showed up in full uniform, a 62-year-old Canadian tourist, and now a College Democrat with a sex-positive education nonprofit.
Formal charges against Walden are scheduled to be filed July 2 before Circuit Judge Sherri Collins.
Sources:
- Natasha Holt, "MMA fighter helps nab Florida university student leader in suspected child predator sting," Fox News, June 21, 2026.
- "FAU Student Leader Removed After Arrest in Sex-Predator Sting Case," Boca Raton Tribune, June 2026.
- "FAU LGBTQ Student Activist, Student Government Member Charged In Delray Beach Minor-Sex Sting," Boca Post, May 2026.
- "FAU student government leader arrested in Delray Beach sting for allegedly trying to meet minor for sex," Florida Voice News, May 2026.
- "561 Predator Catcher sting operation nets 3 for attempting to meet minors in Delray Beach," CBS12, November 15, 2024.
