(Washington) A man armed with explosives and weapons, wanted for crimes related to the January 6, 2021, uprising on the U.S. Capitol, was arrested Thursday in the neighborhood where former President Barack Obama lives in Washington, D.C. said the police.
Taylor Taranto, 37, was spotted by law enforcement a few blocks from the former US president’s home and fled, only to be chased by US Secret Service agents.
Taranto was wanted on a warrant for insurgency-related charges, two law enforcement officials said. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
They reported that Taranto also made threats on social media against a public figure. He was found in possession of weapons and materials to make an explosive device, but it was not built, one of the officials said.
No one was hurt. It was unclear whether the Obamas were at their home at the time of the arrest.
The Metropolitan Police arrested Taranto on charges of being a fugitive from justice. The explosives team swept away Taranto’s van and said there was no threat to the public.
According to the newspaper Tri-City Herald, Taranto was a United States Navy veteran and Republican Party webmaster from Franklin County, Washington. He told the newspaper in an interview last year that he volunteers for the Republican Party.
It’s unclear exactly what Taranto is accused of doing during the riot, in which supporters of then-President Donald Trump smashed Capitol windows and beat and bloodied police officers in an effort to overthrow the 2020 presidential election results.
More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol storming. More than 600 of them have pleaded guilty, while around 100 others have been convicted after trials decided by judges or juries.
More than 550 people accused of rioting have been sentenced, more than half of them to prison terms ranging from six days to 18 years.