The Jan. 6 Defendant Arrested Near President Obama’s Home with Guns Is Indicted

A Jan. 6 defendant who was arrested near former President Barack Obama’s home last year is facing new felony charges. Taylor Taranto found the Obamas home after Donald Trump posted a screenshot with the family’s Washington address. 

A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment against Taranto. Online sleuths identified Taranto among the insurrectionists who carried out the assault on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, but he was not arrested until he was found near Obama’s home.

Guns and ammunition were found in Taranto’s van when he was arrested, and three of the charges stem from that discovery. He faces a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding for his conduct on Jan 6, 2021. He also faces a charge of false information and hoaxes, accused of falsely saying he was going to detonate an explosive at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

After Taranto was identified by “sedition hunters” for his role on Jan. 6, he was sued by the widow of Jeffrey Smith, a Capitol police officer who died by suicide,  after Taranto and David Walls-Kaufman allegedly contributed to his death.

Taranto will be held until his trial which is set for July. He was seen near the jail in Washington where some Jan. 6 defendants were held before their pardons. 

After Trump posted the screenshot with Obama’s address. Taranto reposted it on his Truth Social account, saying he had been to the residence that day.

He posted, “We got these losers surrounded!” Taranto wrote, according to prosecutors. “See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s.” Taranto was taken into custody after he remained in the woods near the home.