Jan. 6 defendants arrested near Obama’s house had guns and 400 rounds of ammunition in his van

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WASHINGTON A Trump supporter who stormed the Capitol wearing a Make Space Great Again hat had two guns and 400 rounds of ammunition in his van when he was arrested Thursday near former President Barack Obama’s home, federal officials said. authorities on Friday.

A federal prosecutor said in court Friday that Taylor Taranto, a 37-year-old man first identified by online sleuths in August 2021, also had a machete in the van he apparently lived in. Taranto’s van has been parked near the DC jail in recent weeks and he appeared in protests in support of other defendants on Jan. 6, videos on social media show. Noticing that he was living in the van, a federal prosecutor said Taranto had nowhere to go.

Taranto currently faces four misdemeanor counts related to the Jan. 6 incident, federal prosecutors said.

The prosecutor said Taranto was in Washington to take up House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on his offer to let the defendants on Jan. 6 review security footage of the Capitol riot related to their cases. in the footage on his social media.

Taranto acknowledged entering the Capitol on January 6 in social media posts and questioned why authorities did not arrest him. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Taranto showed up at Obama’s residence Thursday after former President Donald Trump posted screenshots on his Truth Social platform featuring the purported address for Obama’s Washington home. Taranto’s account reposted Trump’s post.

“We have these losers surrounded!” Taranto wrote on Telegram yesterday. “See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s!”

Taranto will be held until a detention hearing on Wednesday. Federal Magistrate Judge Mr. Michael Harvey said Friday that he had “some concerns” about Taranto’s mental stability.

Taranto was identified by members of the Sedition Hunters community after a facial recognition search turned up photos of him posing with a cardboard cutout of Trump at county GOP events in his home state of Washington.

The widow of a Metropolitan Police officer who died by suicide after defending the Capitol on Jan. 6 has filed a lawsuit against Taranto and another man, David Walls-Kaufman, alleging they played a role in his death. Both men have denied involvement in Officer Jeffrey Smith’s death. Smith’s body cam footage also shows him being struck by a flying metal object later that night, hours after he was part of a scuffle involving Walls-Kaufman and Taranto.

NBC News saw Taranto at the Walls-Kaufmans sentencing earlier this month, where he confirmed his full name to court security officers who spoke with him after he used his cell phone in the courtroom in violation. in court rules.

More than 1,000 people have been charged in connection with the January 6 attack, which involved more than 3,000 people. Taranto was one of hundreds of Jan. 6 participants identified by online sleuths but not charged.

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