A man wanted for crimes related to the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was arrested on Thursday in the Washington D.C. neighborhood where former President Barack Obama lives.
Taylor Taranto, 37, was seen by law enforcement just a few blocks from the former president’s home, and he fled even though he was chased by U.S. Secret Service agents.
Taranto ran towards Obama’s home in the Kalorama neighborhood of the city, but was apprehended before he reached it. It’s unclear if the Obamas were home at the time.
The Obamas bought a home in the exclusive D.C. neighborhood in 2016.
Metropolitan Police arrested him on charges of being a fugitive from justice. The explosives team then swept Taranto’s vehicle.
Taylor Taranto, a man wanted man in connection to crimes related to the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was arrested on Thursday
Taranto was apprehended close to President Barack Obama’s home and saw Secret Service agents pursue Taranto after spotting him a few blocks away from home
Taranto was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police on charges of being a fugitive from justice – he had been living around the corner in a van. He is pictured on January 6th, 2021
Multiple weapons and the materials to make some kind of explosive device similar to a Molotov cocktail were found inside but they had not been assembled, law enforcement officials told CBS News.
Taranto said he had explosives, but first responders only found the materials to make them.
He has an open warrant on charges related to the insurrection, two law enforcement officials said.
Officials who were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing case said Taranto had also made social media threats against a public figure on recent livestreams.
NBC News stated how Taranto had been posting conspiracy theories regarding the Obama’s home to Telegram.
37-year-old Taylor Taranto, of Seattle, Washington was arrested running towards former President Barack Obama’s Washington, DC home. He is seen during the Capitol siege
It wasn’t clear what, exactly, Taranto is accused of doing in the riot, where supporters of then-President Donald Trump smashed windows and beat and bloodied police officers in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election
Taranto was picked up by cameras several times during the Capitol insurrection
Authorities revealed on Thursday that Taranto had been camping out close to the jail where fellow January 6 suspects are being held. He is pictured on January 6, 2021
Taranto had been posting conspiracy theories regarding the Obama’s home to Telegram
Taranto is believed to have been in the Washington, D.C., area for a couple of months.
A Telegram account associated with Taranto’s Facebook and YouTube pages sees a post about the home as recently as 7:50am on Thursday morning.
Taranto is believed to have been in the Washington, D.C., area for a couple of months.
He was spotted camping in his van near the D.C. jail where many of the January 6 defendants are being held.
Some of Taranto’s livestreams were posted while he was in the D.C. area.
Taranto was sued in late 2021 by the widow of Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith for his role in the attack January 6.
Jeffrey Smith was one of hundreds of Metropolitan Police Department officers deployed during the Capitol riot on January 6. He died by suicide on January 15
Taranto was sued in late 2021 by Erin Smith, the widow of Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith for his role in the attack January 6
Erin Smith filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Taranto who then asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit and award him $3.5 million, together with a public apology.
It wasn’t clear what, exactly, Taranto is accused of doing in the riot, where supporters of then-President Donald Trump smashed windows and beat and bloodied police officers in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot.
Over 600 of them have pleaded guilty, while approximately 100 others have been convicted after trials decided by judges or juries.
More than 550 riot defendants have been sentenced, with over half receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from six days to 18 years.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk