Latest news with #Capitol-related
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jan. 6 defendant pardoned by Trump wanted on older solicitation charges in Texas
A Houston man who was pardoned by President Trump over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol is wanted in Texas on older solicitation charges, a district attorney's office confirmed this week. The Harris County District Attorney's Office said Andrew Taake, 36, who was pardoned by Trump last week, is wanted over alleged online solicitation of a minor in 2016. Taake was sentenced to six years in prison last June after pleading guilty to assaulting police officers with bear spray during the riot at the Capitol, Houston Public Media reported. He was being held in a federal prison in Florence, Colo., but upon news of Trump pardoning rioters, the Harris County Sheriff's Office asked federal authorities to hold Taake over his pending warrant in Texas. The Harris County District Attorney's Office confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday that the Bureau of Prisons informed its office there was a 'certified warrant' that would prevent Taake from being released. The district attorney's office received that message via fax on Jan. 15, but Taake was released just days later when Trump took office and pardoned the Jan. 6 defendants. 'Re-arresting individuals, like Taake, who were released with pending State warrants, will require significant resources,' Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said in a statement. 'Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down, as he must answer for [the] 2016 charge of soliciting a minor online.' Taake is accused of pursuing a sexual relationship with a person he knew to be younger than 17 while using an online messaging platform. The case was still pending when he was arrested by the FBI in 2021 for his Capitol-related crimes, Houston Public Media reported. Taake was arrested in 2021. He was turned into the police just days after the riot by an individual who communicated with him on the dating app Bumble while he was in Washington, D.C. The Hill has reached out to the Federal Bureau of Prisons for comment, but the agency told the Houston-based outlet it doesn't discuss details of individuals who are no longer in their custody. As one of his first actions back in office, Trump pardoned nearly all the Jan. 6 rioters, commuting the sentences of the rest. It was something he promised on the campaign trail, and he made good on that promise in the early hours of his term with a 'complete and unconditional pardon' for most of those who stormed the Capitol four years ago. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
29-01-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Jan. 6 defendant pardoned by Trump wanted on older solicitation charges in Texas
A Houston man who was pardoned by President Trump over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol is wanted in Texas on older solicitation charges, a district attorney's office confirmed this week. The Harris County District Attorney's Office said Andrew Taake, 36, who was pardoned by Trump last week, is wanted over alleged online solicitation of a minor in 2016. Taake was sentenced to six years in prison last June after pleading guilty to assaulting police officers with bear spray during the riot at the Capitol, Houston Public Media reported. He was being held a federal prison in Florence, Colo., but upon news of Trump pardoning rioters, the Harris County Sheriffs Office asked federal authorities to hold Taake over his pending warrant in Texas. The Harris County District Attorney's Office confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday that the Bureau of Prisons informed their office there was a 'certified warrant' that would prevent Taake from being released. The district attorney's office received that message via fax on Jan. 15, but Taake was released just days later when Trump took office and pardoned the Jan. 6 defendants. 'Re-arresting individuals, like Taake, who were released with pending State warrants, will require significant resources,' Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said in a statement. 'Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down, as he must answer for [the] 2016 charge of soliciting a minor online.' Taake is accused of pursuing a sexual relationship with a person he knew to be under the age of 17 while using an online messaging platform. The case was still pending when he was arrested by the FBI in 2021 for his Capitol-related crimes, Houston Public Media reported. Taake was arrested in 2021. He was turned into the police just days after the riot by an individual who communicated with him on the dating app Bumble while he was in Washington, D.C. The Hill has reached out to the Federal Bureau of Prisons for comment, but the agency told the Houston-based outlet it doesn't discuss details of individuals who are no longer in their custody. As one of his first actions back in office, Trump pardoned nearly all the Jan. 6 rioters, commuting the sentences of the rest. It was something he promised on the campaign trail, and he made good on that promise in the early hours of his term with a 'complete and unconditional pardon' for most of those who stormed the Capitol four years ago.
The Independent
27-01-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Violent Jan 6 rioter pardoned by Donald Trump being sought on charges of child sex solicitation
A violent Capitol rioter who was released from prison after being pardoned by Donald Trump is now wanted on separate charges of child sex solicitation. Andrew Taake, 36, from Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty in 2023 to beating officers with a metal whip and dousing them with bear spray while storming the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021. After being turned in by a woman he chatted with on the dating app Bumble, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison plus three years of post-released supervision. But now that he's free again, Texas prosecutors are seeking him for trial on charges related to text messages he allegedly sent an undercover cop pretending to be a 15-year-old girl back in 2016. According to court documents, Taake was already awaiting trial for those messages when he journeyed to the Capitol "ready for violence" in January 2021. Nevertheless, he was freed from federal prison despite a formal request from Texas authorities to keep him in custody so that he could be tried for the 2016 charge, according to Houston officials. A spokesperson for the Harris County district attorney's office told The Independent that it had first requested Taake's hold back in 2022 and sent over further paperwork on January 15, five days before Donald Trump's blanket pardon order. Trump hailed those imprisoned on charges in the Captitol riot as 'patriots.' 'Re-arresting individuals like Taake, who were released with pending state warrants, will require significant resources,' the spokesperson said. 'Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down, as he must answer for the 2016 charge of soliciting a minor online.' Taake was among more than 1,500 people who were pardoned or had their sentences communted by Donald Trump for their roles in the Capitol riot in a bid to overturn the 2020 election for Trump, including far-right militia fighters found guilty of sedition. Trump hailed the prisoners as 'patriots.' On Sunday, another 'J6er' from Indiana was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop. Police said he was found with a gun. Taake has a long history with the law. According to his sentencing memo, he was jailed for six years at age 19 for crashing his car into another vehicle while drunk. In 2015 he was convicted of speeding and driving without insurance while on probation, and in 2022 and 2023 he fought with inmates while in prison on Capitol-related charges, according to documents. In May 2016, the memo alleges, Taake initiated a conversation with an undercover officer who was posing as a 15-year-old girl and sent 'multiple explicit messages' before proposing to meet in person. At one point he allegedly admitted to the cop that he 'could go to jail' for the liaison.
