Police

Feds: Jan. 6 Defendant Arrested Near Obama Home Made Week-Long Series of Threats

JUL 5 2023·Updated AUG 27

Story

Image credit: Tyler Merbler/Flickr [via Wikimedia Commons]

The Facts

US prosecutors claimed on Wednesday that a man arrested last week driving a van full of weapons near former Pres. Barack Obama's house in Washington, DC, had threatened Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which houses a nuclear research reactor.
The Washington Post
According to the Justice Dept., Taylor Taranto broadcast threats to Raskin while showing up in his neighborhood in mid-June, called McCarthy's office on June 27, and a day later, revealed plans to detonate explosives at the NIST building.
Politico
This reportedly tipped off the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was monitoring Taranto's online presence as he is accused of participating in the Jan. 6 riot, leading to his apprehension by the Secret Service on June 29.
Forbes
These details emerged ahead of a detention hearing on Wednesday afternoon as prosecutors urged a federal magistrate judge to keep the defendant behind bars pending trial for charges related to the 2021 Capitol riot.
CNN
The 37-year-old from Washington state, who reportedly had been living in his van for months, was wanted on an arrest warrant for his alleged actions on Jan. 6, 2021, and faces four misdemeanor charges related to the incident.
CBS News
It remains unclear, however, what the alleged US Navy veteran and a volunteer webmaster for the Republican Party in Franklin County, Wash., is specifically accused of doing in the riot.
New York Post

Sources Split

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The Spin

Anti-Trump narrative

Donald Trump has not only unleashed a domestic terrorism movement, but he has been actively stimulating his followers to engage in dangerous behavior, such as doxxing a former US president. It's no coincidence that Capitol riot fugitive Taranto was arrested near Obama's home just days after Trump posted on his Truth Social the alleged address of the Obamas' residence.

Black America Web

Pro-Trump narrative

While Taranto has indeed attended some nightly vigils for the Jan. 6 political prisoners, he was kicked out for acting strange and claiming that Ashli Babbitt was not shot dead by police. One can just wonder why the Feds took so long to arrest him, allowing him to walk free in Washington, D.C., even though he was inside the Capitol and near Babbitt when she was killed.

The Gateway Pundit