Washington
CNN
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A man arrested last week at gunpoint in former President Barack Obama’s Washington, D.C. neighborhood began live streaming in the area shortly after resharing a social media post from Donald Trump in which the former president posted what he said was Obama’s address, according to the federal government. fiscal
Prosecutors included the details in a detention memo filed Wednesday, urging a federal judge in D.C. District Court to hold the defendant, Taylor Taranto, in custody pending trial on charges related to the ‘attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Taranto has not yet been charged in connection with last week’s incident.
They said in the filing that Taranto also made threats against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Maryland Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin. In early June, Taranto and several others entered an elementary school near Raskin’s home, with Taranto live-streaming the group “walking around the school, going into the gym and using a projector to show a movie film related to January 6,” according to the filing.
Taranto stated that he specifically chose the elementary school because of its proximity to Raskin’s home and that he is targeting Raskin because “he’s one of the guys that the January 6th people hate, or more like Trump supporters, and it’s like sending a shock wave. him because I didn’t do anything wrong and he’s probably freaking out and saying some shit like, ‘Well, he’s chasing me,'” the file said.
” Taranto further comments, “I didn’t tell anyone where he lives because I want it for myself” and “That was Piney Branch Elementary School in Maryland…right next door to where Rep. Raskin and his wife live “. said the note.
“Taranto is a direct and serious threat to the public,” prosecutors told the judge in their filing. “Taranto’s own words and actions demonstrate that he is a direct threat to multiple political figures, as well as the general public. The risk that Taranto poses if he is released is high, and the severity of the consequences that could result- they are catastrophic.”
A detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
CNN has reached out to Taranto’s attorney for comment.
Taranto, who had an outstanding arrest warrant related to the riot charges, was arrested last week in Obama’s neighborhood at gunpoint after claiming in a live Internet broadcast the day before that he had a detonator .
On June 28, according to prosecutors, Taranto made “nefarious comments” in the video that referenced McCarthy, saying, “It’s coming at you McCarthy. You can’t stop what’s coming. Nothing can stop what’s coming.” .
After seeing those “threatening comments,” law enforcement tried to locate Taranto but was unsuccessful, prosecutors said.
The next day, on June 29, “former President Donald Trump posted what he said was former President Barack Obama’s address on the social media platform Truth Social,” prosecutors wrote in their memo . “Taranto used his own Truth Social account to repost the address. On Telegram, Taranto declared: “We have these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta and Obama’”.
“Shortly thereafter, Taranto again began broadcasting live from his van to his YouTube channel. This time, Taranto was driving through the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, DC,” prosecutors said.
The government said in its filing that Taranto parked his van and began walking through the neighborhood and that because of the “restricted nature of the residential area in which Taranto was walking, uniformed agents of the United States Secret Service start controlling Taranto almost immediately as soon as it started. walking around and filming.”
Prosecutors said that in Taranto’s recording, he repeatedly cast his actions as free speech “as if he believed that simply saying the words ‘First Amendment’ absolved him of any wrongdoing.”
“So yeah, more than likely, these guys hang for treason too. See what I said? You have to be very safe and careful. Somebody warned me,” Taranto said on the recording, according to the arrest warrant .
“After observing the Secret Service personnel, Taranto left the street, into a wooded area and walked toward Rock Creek,” prosecutors said, referring to an area park. “When the agents of the Secret Service approached Taranto, he began to run away from them; however, Taranto was detained and arrested.”
Prosecutors said in their filing that the two firearms found in Taranto’s van last week were a “Smith and Wesson M&P Shield” and a “Ceska 9mm CZ Scorpion E3.” Prosecutors included in their memo several photos of the firearms recovered from Taranto’s van.
They also found “hundreds of nine-millimeter rounds of ammunition, a steering wheel lock and a machete,” according to the memo, as well as signs, a mattress and other evidence that Taranto lived in the van.
More than a dozen other firearms are registered to him, they said, but remain at large.
