Christopher K. Mellon

[[File:Christopher_Mellon,_2021.jpg|thumb|200px|Christopher Mellon pictured in 2021]]

{{ufology}}
'''Christopher Karl Mellon''' {{lived|1957}}<ref name="Koskoff"/>{{rp|228}} is a flying saucer fanatic who, as of 2026, is generally considered the chief [[crackpot]] of [[ufology]]. He believes that beings from [[outer space]] are spying on [[Earth]]; is known for appearing in a vast number of flying saucer films from [[tabloid]] media outlets such as TMZ; and has been directly and indirectly connected to a pantheon of [[kook]]s, hucksters, and [[extremist]]s.

Mellon comes from a troubled family with a history of mental illness; both of his parents met while involuntarily institutionalized in a mental hospital, and his half-brother experienced bipolar disorder. His grandfather, Matthew T. Mellon, was a prominent American [[Nazi]], while his uncle Jaime&nbsp;— with whom he was close&nbsp;— renounced his U.S. citizenship and was later involved in a protracted civil [[tax]] evasion case with the [[IRS]]. 

After being rejected for enlistment by the U.S. Army, Mellon got an unpaid internship with the U.S. Government and eventually worked his way up to several middle management positions in the U.S. Department of Defense. He later worked with the for-profit UFO company TTSA (To The Stars Academy), which was reportedly the subject of an SEC fraud investigation. As of 2026 he is the chairman of the Disclosure Fund, a flying saucer club. 

==Early career and life==
Mellon was born in the United States and, as a young adult in the 1970s, attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army but was rejected.<ref name="Koskoff"/>{{rp|565}}

Despite not being very academically minded, Mellon was somehow accepted for admission to Colby College.<ref>{{cite web
 | title      = "Christopher K. Mellon"
 | work       = Disclosure Foundation – Our Team
 | url        = https://disclosure.org/team/christopher-mellon
 | accessdate = January 10, 2026
 | publisher  = Disclosure Foundation
 | description= }}</ref> Whether his grandfather being a donor to the school and a past member of its board of trustees<ref>{{cite web 
 | last       = 
 | first      = 
 | author     = 
 | title      = Bach Organ is Brought to Colby
 | newspaper  = Bangor Sunday Commercial
 | date       = February 19, 1950
 | page       = 27
 | url        = https://www.newspapers.com/image/1106659309
 | accessdate = January 10, 2026
 | location   = Bangor, Maine}}</ref> had any bearing on the college's decision to admit Mellon is a matter of speculation.

He later was hired for an unpaid internship in the [[United States Congress]] and eventually worked his way up to a full-time, paid professional staffer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://soundcloud.com/yaleuniversity/from-unpaid-employee-to-deputy-asst-secretary-of-defense-for-intelligence-with-christopher-mellon |title=From Unpaid Employee to Deputy Asst Secretary of Defense for Intelligence with Christopher Mellon |website=SoundCloud (Yale University) |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref> He ultimately worked at the Pentagon, culminating in a brief stint as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense,<ref>{{cite web
 |last=Bender
 |first=Bryan
 |title=How Harry Reid, a Terrorist Interrogator and the Singer From Blink-182 Took UFOs Mainstream
 |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/05/28/ufos-secret-history-government-washington-dc-487900
 |website=Politico
 |date=May 28, 2021
 |access-date=December 27, 2025
}}</ref> a relatively minor post (the U.S. Code authorizes up to 62 deputy assistant secretaries in the Department of Defense, and the rank sits at the bottom of the pile of secretaries — below those of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Secretary<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title10-section138 |title=10 U.S. Code § 138 – Assistant Secretaries of Defense |website=U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Law Revision Counsel |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref>). 

===Discredited rumors of personal wealth===
While Mellon has been noted as a scion of the [[Andrew W. Mellon|Mellon]] banking clan, he is not descended from the sons of Thomas Mellon who founded Mellon Bank and reportedly has little or no  contact with that branch of the family; in one case, when half-brother Matthew attended a funeral of a Mellon heir in [[Virginia]], family members were left wondering who he was.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/tim-mellon-maga-mega-donor |title=The Mellon Family Is Famed for Restraint, but MAGA Mega-Donor Tim Mellon Is Rocking the Boat |website=Vanity Fair |author=James Reginato |date=September 18, 2024 |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref>{{efn|{{wpl|CelebrityNetWorth}} estimates his net worth at $100 million,<ref>[https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/business-executives/christopher-mellon-net-worth/ Christopher Mellon Net Worth $100 Million] ''CelebrityNetWorth''.</ref> but the website does not disclose how it arrived at that calculation.}}

Christopher Mellon was raised in hard-scrabble conditions in Chicago by a single mother.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/07/how-believers-paranormal-birthed-pentagons-new-hunt-ufos.html |title=How Believers of the Paranormal Birthed the Pentagon’s New Hunt for UFOs |website=Military.com |date=March 7, 2022 |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref> He worked a part-time job in college to help support himself.<ref name="Koskoff"/> His father, from whom he was estranged, died of suicide in Maine in near destitution.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mellon Kin Dies in Maine |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=April 6, 1983}}</ref> While his father, Karl, attempted to leave his estate consisting of a used pickup truck and small house to a woman he met at a bar a few weeks before his death, family heirs argued in probate court to invalidate Karl's wishes and take control of the property, valued at less than $100,000.<ref>{{cite web
 | title      = Hearing is Set on Mellon Will
 | work       = Bangor Daily News
 | date       = May 10, 1983
 | url        = https://www.newspapers.com/image/662839440/
 | accessdate = May 22, 2025
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | last       = Heidinger
 | first      = Katherine
 | title      = Mellon Heir Takes Own Life
 | work       = Ellsworth American
 | date       = April 7, 1983
 | url        = https://www.newspapers.com/image/962730698/
 | accessdate = May 22, 2025
}}</ref>

==Family mental illness and drug abuse==
{{main|Drug abuse}}
Christopher Mellon's parents, Karl and Ann, met while both were involuntarily institutionalized in the Menninger Clinic, a mental hospital in Topeka, [[Kansas]].<ref name="Koskoff"/> Karl was, for a period, confined to the high security ward.<ref name="Koskoff"/> After escaping the clinic, Karl and Ann eloped, and Ann gave birth to Christopher.<ref name="Koskoff"/> 

Mellon's half-brother Matthew also suffered a lifelong battle with mental illness.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/matthew-mellon |title=Matthew Mellon: Heir Conditioning |website=W Magazine |author=Samantha Conti |date=December 1, 2007 |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref> Matthew, who grew wealthy speculating on [[cryptocurrency]], further experienced addiction to a variety of drugs and died in 2018 while en route to check-in to a rehab clinic in [[Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pagesix.com/2018/05/08/matthew-mellons-daughter-rings-in-16-with-spectacular-party/ |title=Matthew Mellon’s daughter rings in 16 with ‘spectacular’ party |website=Page Six |date=May 8, 2018 |access-date=December 27, 2025}})</ref>

Christopher Mellon has described his rejection from U.S. Army enlistment as being the result of his response to a screening question about his use of illicit drugs.<ref name="Koskoff"/>

==Descent into flying saucer obsession==
More than a decade after leaving government employment, in 2017, Mellon began making increasingly feverish [[social media]] proclamations of secret [[Martian]] interventions he believed were occurring on Earth to such an extent he claimed his life had become "dominated" by the topic.<ref name="politico">{{cite web
 |title=UFO crash materials, intelligence and the Pentagon’s hidden programs
 |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/06/03/ufo-crash-materials-intelligence-00100077
 |website=Politico
 |publisher=Politico LLC
 |date=June 3, 2023
 |access-date=January 12, 2026
}}</ref> According to Mellon, his stints in government service did not expose him to any information about [[aliens]] or flying saucers, and his conclusions are based entirely on beliefs he formed after the end of his federal employment.<ref name="politico"/> 

During a 2017 event sponsored by the for-profit UFO company To the Stars Academy (TTSA) with which he was involved, Mellon&nbsp;— according to ''The Washington Spectator''&nbsp;— "unveiled photographic evidence of a UFO that turned out to be a party balloon".<ref name="washspec">{{cite web |url=https://washingtonspectator.org/spaceship-of-fools/ |title=Spaceship of Fools |website=Washington Spectator |access-date=December 26, 2025}}</ref> (As of 2023, ''The Washington Spectator'' reports, TTSA was the subject of a potential fraud investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, though Mellon, who had previously left the company, disclaimed that he was a subject of any inquiry.<ref name="washspec"/>)

In 2024, Mellon posted a rambling video to social media in which he frantically claimed there was a "body of evidence" to demonstrate that "at least one alien civilization has found Earth and is monitoring us".<ref>{{cite web |title=Chris Mellon on X: "I was asked to create a video for a conference that did not ..." |url=https://x.com/ChrisKMellon/status/1930321042939228375 |website=X (formerly Twitter) |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref> The same year, he joined the UAP Disclosure Fund, a [[flying saucer]] club, as a member of its inaugural board of directors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.einpresswire.com/article/716634660/the-uap-disclosure-fund-launches-to-fight-for-transparency-and-whistleblower-protection |title=The UAP Disclosure Fund Launches to Fight for Transparency and Whistleblower Protection |website=EIN Presswire |date=June 3, 2024 |access-date=December 28, 2025}}</ref>

Mellon is a fixture in UFO infotainment [[media]], appearing in more than a dozen flying saucer films from production companies such as the tabloid news outlet TMZ and others, most recently including the 2025 movie ''The Age of Disclosure'' in which he continued to make wild allegations about little green men.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9544288/ |title=Name – nm9544288 |website=IMDb |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref> Writing about the critically-panned film,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_age_of_disclosure |title=The Age of Disclosure |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref> Regarding this film, ''[[The New York Times]]'' concluded that "anyone who sits through its nearly two hours of unprovable claims is a chump".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/movies/the-age-of-disclosure-review.html |title=‘The Age of Disclosure’ Review: Release the Extraterrestrial Files |website=The New York Times |date=November 20, 2025 |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref> 

===Social media crash-outs===
Mellon has had several spectacular crash-outs on social media when approached with questions about his unusual [[worldview]]. 
*In 2023, he claimed to block a ''[[New York Post]]'' [[journalist]] after denouncing the reporter for "disagreement" with him.<ref>{{cite web
 |url = https://x.com/ChrisKMellon/status/1624857608241676296
 |title = Good faith disagreement (e.g. @MickWest) = A valuable check against a potential echo-chamber. Bad faith disagreement (e.g. Greenstreet) = Blocked.
 |author = Chris K. Mellon
 |website = X (formerly Twitter)
 |date = 11 February 2023
 |archive-url = https://archive.ph/0Tflx
 |archive-date = 11 February 2023
 |url-status = live
}}</ref> 
* Earlier, in 2021, he angrily replied to a [[Twitter]] post by [[Neil deGrasse Tyson]] by accusing the famed [[Astrophysics|astrophysicist]] of contributing "little to this discussion" (of flying saucers), a broadside which Tyson did not acknowledge.<ref>{{cite web
 |url = https://x.com/ChrisKMellon/status/1409342661614571531
 |title = Your faith in the insignificance of mankind contributes little to this discussion. Was Columbus interested in the indigenous peoples when he set sail?
 |author = Chris K. Mellon
 |website = X (formerly Twitter)
 |date = 27 June 2021
 |archive-url = https://archive.ph/NzQkG
 |archive-date = 27 June 2021
 |url-status = live
}}</ref> 
* In a May 2020 post, he claimed to have debunked [[skeptical]] analyst [[Mick West]]'s position on flying saucers with the testimony of "several F-18 pilots," none of whom he named.<ref>{{cite web
 |url = https://x.com/ChrisKMellon/status/1256288961942691841
 |title = Mick’s efforts miss crucial facts such as the tracking by the Princeton’s Spy 1 radar which guided the Flir intercept providing precise coordinates. I discussed Mick’s views with several F-18 pilots and they noted other critical flaws. Suggest he talk to them for the facts.
 |author = Chris K. Mellon
 |website = X (formerly Twitter)
 |date = 30 April 2020
 |archive-url = https://archive.ph/G2UFg
 |archive-date = 30 April 2020
 |url-status = live
}}</ref>

==Connections to extremists and lunatics== 
===Nazi grandfather===
Mellon is the grandson<ref name="Koskoff"/> of the prominent [[Nazi Party]] supporter<ref>{{cite news |title=Harvard Renews Rebuff to Nazis |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 23, 1934}}</ref> Matthew T. Mellon who notoriously wore [[swastika]] lapel pins,<ref>{{cite news |title=Dr. Mellon Lauds Zep |newspaper=Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph |date=May 21, 1936}}</ref> displayed the [[Nazi Germany|Reich]] flag,<ref>{{cite news |title=Andy's Nephew Hurrahs for Hitler |newspaper=The American Guardian |date=May 17, 1935}}</ref> publicly performed the Nazi Party salute, spoke lavishly of the Nazi Party,<ref>{{cite news |title=Mellon's Nephew Praises Hitler |newspaper=Montreal Star |agency=United Press International |date=September 11, 1935}}</ref> expatriated from the U.S. to live in Germany during the 1930s,<ref>{{cite news |title=Wealth – How Family Lived With It |newspaper=The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus |agency=Knight Newswire |date=May 19, 1978}}</ref> and on at least one occasion attended the opera as a guest of [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name="Koskoff"/> Despite raising his family in the United States, Matthew Mellon's obsession with [[Nazi Germany]] was so intense that he insisted that his children speak German at home and by the time Christopher's father, Karl, enrolled in high school he knew almost no English, for which he was severely bullied.<ref name="Koskoff"/>

Christopher Mellon seems to have had a close relationship with his Nazi grandfather. He once stated that the only books by Mellon family members that he has read were those of his Nazi grandfather, as well as his uncle Jamie<ref name="Koskoff">{{cite book |last=Koskoff|url=https://archive.org/details/mellonschronicle0000kosk |first=David E. |title=The Mellons: The Chronicle of America's Richest Family |publisher=Thomas Y. Crowell Co. |location=New York |year=1978 |pages=387–388, 526, 528, 562–565 |isbn=0690011903}}</ref> (who renounced his U.S. citizenship and was later embroiled in a 2018 tax evasion case<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nypost.com/2017/02/08/heir-cant-evade-irs-just-because-hes-rich-renounced-citizenship/ |title=Heir can't evade IRS just because he's rich, renounced citizenship |website=New York Post |date=February 8, 2017 |access-date=December 27, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.taxnotes.com/research/federal/court-documents/court-opinions-and-orders/passport-case-dismissed-as-moot-and-on-jurisdictional-grounds/7h34h |title=Passport Case Dismissed as Moot and on Jurisdictional Grounds |website=Tax Notes |access-date=December 28, 2025}}</ref>). He also spent money from a small trust fund left to him by his Nazi grandfather.<ref name="Koskoff"/>

===Other loons===

====Marina Seren====
According to skeptical podcaster Steven Cambian, Mellon has been photographed "taking selfies with" Marina Seren<ref>[https://archive.ph/JJslt #UFOTWITTER #UFOX Nothing says credibility like taking selfies with a known holocaust denier and good nazi promoter Marina Seren at a UFO conference. Christopher Mellon is an idiot. He stood up in front of fake party balloons and lied too. TTSA "Technoscam" member. A proven liar] by Steven Cambian (10:19 AM · Jan 26, 2024) ''Twitter'' (archived from 27 Dec 2025 00:51:11 UTC).</ref> (born Marina Lucena Ruiz) {{lived|2000}} whom Reactionary International reports "claims she was a part of the secret space program where humans are conscripted into an intergalactic clone war" and who has claimed to be the [[reincarnation]] of a Nazi [[SS]] general.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://reactionary.international/database/marina-seren/en/ |title=Marina Seren |website=reactionary.international |access-date=December 26, 2025}}</ref>

====Luiz Elizondo====
Mellon is closely connected to flying saucer nutjob Luis Elizondo, the proprietor of a bar in Wyoming who served for three years in the U.S. Army and has falsely presented photos of mundane objects such as light fixtures and irrigation circles as possible Martian spaceships.<ref name="timesnow">{{cite web |last1=Roy |first1=Arkaprovo |title=Pentagon Official Shares Image Of 'UFO Mothership', Says 'Huge Mini City Floating In Sky' |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/pentagon-luis-elizondo-official-shares-image-of-ufo-mothership-says-huge-mini-city-floating-in-sky-article-114792530 |access-date=December 1, 2025 |work=Times Now |date=October 31, 2024}}</ref> Mellon served on the board of directors of the UAP Disclosure Foundation (later renamed the Disclosure Fund) with Elizondo and, in social media posts, referred to Elizondo as his "friend and colleague".<Ref>{{cite web
 |url = https://x.com/ChrisKMellon/status/1278080853386702848
 |title = Tune in to listen to my friend and colleague Lue Elizondo speak about the upcoming season 2 premier of #Unidentified. Also, stay posted for the upcoming #TTSATalks: Podcast #4 coming out later this week.
 |author = Chris K. Mellon
 |website = X (formerly Twitter)
 |date = 29 June 2020
 |access-date = 10 January 2026
 |archive-url = https://archive.ph/zsYri
 |archive-date = 10 January 2026
 |url-status = live
}}</ref> He is also credited as the narrator of a portion of the audiobook version of Elizondo's book ''Imminent''.<ref>{{cite web
 |url = https://discover.bklynlibrary.org/item?b=12753594
 |title = *Imminent : inside the Pentagon's hunt for UFOs* (eAudiobook)
 |website = Brooklyn Public Library online catalog
 |publisher = Brooklyn Public Library
 |access-date = 10 January 2026
 |url-status = live
}}</ref>

====Jaime Maussan====
In 2022, Mellon boasted on social media that he had done an interview with UFO huckster [[Jaime Maussán]].<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Tweet by Christopher Mellon
 |url=https://x.com/ChrisKMellon/status/1568346803183169537
 |archive-url=https://archive.ph/P4j4B
 |archive-date=January 12, 2026
 |website=X (formerly Twitter)
 |author=Christopher Mellon
 |date=September 10, 2022
 |quote=Also participated in an interview with @jaimemaussan1: https://filmot.com/sidebyside/LGG-2EbdaNA/auto.en/auto.en/English+%28auto-generated%29/English+%28auto-generated%29/%C2%A1ENTREVISTA+EXCLUSIVA%21+Jaime+Maussan+y+Christopher+Mellon+en+%22The+Ufology+World+Congress%22/Maussan+Televisi%C3%B3n
 |access-date=January 12, 2026
}}</ref> Maussan has promoted the discredited claim that three-fingered alien mummies were discovered in [[Peru]] (later scientific analysis determined the “mummies” were actually dolls<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Scientists assert 'alien mummies' in Peru are really dolls made from Earthly bones
 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/scientists-assert-alien-mummies-peru-are-really-dolls-made-earthly-bones-2024-01-13/
 |website=Reuters
 |publisher=Thomson Reuters
 |author=Marco Aquino
 |date=January 13, 2024
 |access-date=January 12, 2026
}}</ref><ref name="wired"/>).<ref name="wired">{{cite web
 |title=How Mexico Is Fighting Back Against Fake ‘Alien’ Mummies
 |url=https://www.wired.com/story/mexico-fake-aliens-science-fightback/
 |website=Wired
 |publisher=Wired Media Group
 |author=Kathleen Hennessey
 |date=January 12, 2024
 |access-date=January 12, 2026
}}</ref> 

This interview prompted prominent fellow UFO believer Joe Murgia to comment on Mellon:<ref>[https://archive.ph/pPxwx No offense to JM but you need to have somebody advising you on who not to give interviews to because some folks in this community have a really bad reputation and have been involved with hoaxes throughout the years.] by Joe Murgia (6:46 PM · Sep 10, 2022) ''Twitter'' (archived from 13 Jan 2026 05:06:59 UTC).</ref>
{{cquote|No offense to JM but you need to have somebody advising you on who not to give interviews to because some folks in this community have a really bad reputation and have been involved with hoaxes throughout the years.}}
Seemingly oblivious to the warning, the following year Mellon was a featured speaker at the Ufology World Congress where he shared a stage with Maussán.

==See also==
* [[Giorgio Tsoukalos]]
* [[Nazi UFOs]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellon, Christopher}}

[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Ufology]]

Categories: Living people, Ufology