Taylor Taranto, the accused Jan. 6 rioter arrested while looking for the Washington, D.C. home of former President Barack Obama, has been indicted on firearms charges and for his involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, prosecutors announced.
Taranto, 37, of Pasco, Washington, is facing two felony charges of carrying a pistol without a license and possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device. He was also charged with four misdemeanors tied to his involvement in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach, court documents show.
Part of the evidence against Taranto's alleged breaching of the Capitol more than two years ago includes a video posted online in which he says "So we're in the Capitol Building...legislative building...we just stormed it," prosecutors said.
The video was posted with a caption stating, "This is me "stormin' the capitol" lol I'm only sharing this so someone will report me to the feds and we can get this party rolling!"
He was also part of a large group that gathered just outside of the House chamber around the same time that Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed by a police officer while attempting to climb through a glass window, prosecutors said.
His attorney, Kathryn Guevara, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the indictment.
Taranto was arrested on June 29 in the wealthy, exclusive Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C., after prosecutors say he made several "concerning statements" regarding the homes in the area and his desire to "commit acts of violence against a federal facility."
In the weeks leading up to his arrest, Taranto livestreamed threats against several prominent people in the D.C. area on his YouTube page. He also filmed himself saying he was in Obama's neighborhood looking for "entrance points" and that he "wanted to get a good angle on a shot." He also made regular appearances at a protest site near the D.C. jail where supporters of Jan. 6 defendants congregate.
On the day Taranto was arrested, former President Donald Trump posted what he claimed was Obama's address on his social media page. Taranto allegedly reposted this address and made his way to the home and was later arrested.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
