Latest news with #Taranto
7NEWS
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
GWS Giants in the gun for taunting Tim Taranto with social media post: ‘This is not class'
The GWS Giants have again come under fire for a controversial gesture following their narrow win over Richmond on Saturday. After narrowly avoiding a huge boilover (they snuck home against the rebuilding Tigers by just three points), the Giants' social media team decided to taunt Richmond midfielder Tim Taranto, who left the Giants at the end of the 2022 season. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today The social media team posted a photo of Taranto celebrating, with the score and the word 'WIN' splashed across the image. Taranto was wearing a GWS jumper. The Agenda Setters host Craig Hutchison had a serious issue with the controversial act. After applauding former GWS skipper Callan Ward (who spoke to media and his teammates despite a career-threatening injury), Hutchison said, 'That's class ... this is not class. 'He played a very good game, Taranto, but it's just cheekiness at the end of the game. Their social team have been well acclaimed over the journey ...' Collingwood premiership hero Dale Thomas said the Giants social team had been 'brilliant' over the years. 'But this has been a miss,' he said. 'I like near on everything they do. I thought the stuff that they've done around pretty much every team they come up against, has been fantastic. 'But that was a miss. 'And you take into consideration that Tim Taranto shared the plane back with Cal Ward and then drove him home and dropped him to his place of residence ... That was a miss by the Giants.' Veteran AFL journalist Caroline Wilson agreed. 'That's poor sportsmanship,' she said. 'And they've had to apologise already once this year for that banner with the Sydney Swans.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WA Jan. 6 rioter ordered to ‘stay away from D.C.' but can return to Tri-Cities
A pardoned Jan. 6 rioter from Pasco can head back to the Tri-Cities after a new conviction on gun and bombing hoax charges. Taylor Taranto, 39, was granted bond until his sentencing hearing after spending nearly two years in jail. He was arrested for weapons that were in his van while livestreaming an attempt to gain access to former President Barack Obama's Washington, D.C., home. He also was convicted for threatening to use his van as a bomb to blow up a federal building. He was released on personal recognizance, with a requirement to 'stay away from Washington, D.C.,' according to court filings. Taranto is expected to return to the Tri-Cities with his wife, according to court documents. Earlier this week U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols convicted Taranto of two felony firearm charges, a misdemeanor ammunition charge and a felony bomb hoax charge after a four-day bench trial. Taranto opted not to have a jury. He is likely facing a sentence of 21 to 27 months out of a maximum of five years, according to court documents. After the verdict, Nichols ordered Taranto's attorneys to prepare a motion for his release ahead of his sentencing. Prosecutors opposed his release arguing that Taranto still presents a serious danger to the community. They agreed that the likely sentencing range is correct, but said the sentence for the bombing hoax can be served after the other crimes, resulting in a longer prison term. Prosecutors also argued Taranto hasn't accepted responsibility for his crimes, saying he was laughing during the trial when prosecutors showed videos of his actions. His attorneys wrote that he deserves to spend Memorial Day weekend with his wife and two children, and to remain free until he's sentenced. Nichols has not yet set a sentencing date, but Taranto's attorneys will have a status update next week, according to court documents. He was released from the D.C. Metropolitan Jail on Thursday afternoon. He also remains a co-defendant in a civil lawsuit for the wrongful death of a D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer that he is accused of helping attack inside the Capitol building. His arrest came after a warrant was issued for now pardoned Jan. 6 charges because of a number of threats he had been making online to lawmakers. He also threatened to use his van as a bomb to blow up a federal building and claimed in private messages that he had a contract to kill former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to court documents. While President Donald J. Trump pardoned Taranto, along with 1,500 other rioters, for his role in the 2021 insurrection, Nichols denied Taranto's attempt to drop charges for the guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition found in his van during the D.C. arrest and the bombing threat. Taranto is a U.S. Navy veteran and a former webmaster for the Franklin County Republican Party. His attorneys have argued that he suffers from PTSD and, if released, needs to travel to a Puget Sound area veterans clinic for treatment. Local Republican Party officials previously told the Herald that they had cut ties with Taranto months before his 2023 arrest due to his erratic behavior. When Taranto was arrested, investigators found two guns in his van that he was not registered to be carrying, along with a significant amount of ammunition and multiple cell phones. A charge for a high-capacity magazine was dropped after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling said the law enforcing the ban on those magazines was unconstitutional. Taranto was allegedly in Obama's neighborhood in response to a conspiracy theory posted by Trump on social media, which listed the address, according to court documents. His attorneys claim Taranto's statements about 'trying to get a shot' were about filming. He has claimed he is a self-styled satirical journalist. However on Tuesday, a video was introduced into evidence that prosecutors say showed Taranto admitting that his claim of being a journalist was a ruse, according to WUSA9 reporter Jordan Fischer. Trump later denounced Taranto's actions and said the two had never met, after a picture circulated online of Taranto posing with a cardboard cutout of Trump. That photo was from a Franklin County Republican Party meeting. In the days before his arrest, Taranto allegedly had made a series of threats on livestreams and through messaging apps against former Vice President Kamala Harris, and two members of Congress for their roles in the Jan. 6 investigation. Federal agents were keeping tabs on his broadcasts after the threat to the federal building, according to court documents. He had been traveling back and forth between Pasco and D.C. to attend various protests, court documents said. His co-defendant in the wrongful death lawsuit, D.C. Chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman, admitted to 'scuffling' with an officer during the riot at his Jan. 6 charges sentencing. He allegedly hit the officer with a heavy metal cane handed to him by Taranto. A review panel ruled that Officer Jeffrey Smith suffered a concussion which led to his suicide after returning to duty. They said the injuries suffered in the riot were the 'sole and direct cause' of his death when awarding his widow death benefits. Walls-Kaufman was later pardoned after being sentenced to two months in jail. His widow is suing the two men for $7 million in damages. The civil trial is proceeding against Kaufman, but paused for Taranto until after his sentencing.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pardoned Capitol Rioter Who Threatened to Blow Up Obama's House Caught Red-Handed on His Own Livestream
On the latest episode of 'Jan. 6 rioters in trouble with the law... again,' Taylor Taranto is finally facing the music after a series of careless decisions and violent threats led him right back in front of a federal judge. The 39-year-old was one of the 1,500 Capitol insurrectionists pardoned by President Donald Trump this year, but despite being given a second chance, Taranto couldn't resist getting in trouble. It all started two years after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in Washington, D.C. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Taranto — an avid MAGA supporter — began live-streaming himself on June 28, 2023, in his van. He told his audience he had been 'working on a detonator' and suggested he was on an 'one-way mission' to drive a car bomb into the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This put him on the FBI's Washington Field Office and the Joint Terrorism Task Force's watch list. Officials didn't catch up to him until the next day (June 29, 2023) during another one of Taranto's streams. This time, he posted up near former President Barack Obama's house in Washington, D.C., according to NBC News. For those wondering how he even got Obama's address in the first place, you can turn to Trump, who posted a screenshot on social media which included what he said was Obama's Washington address, according to PBS. Prosecutors said Taranto reposted Trump's post and later shared he was outside the former president's home. 'We got these losers surrounded!' Taranto wrote. Taranto was soon arrested on a fugitive from justice warrant by officers, who also found two guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and even a machete in his van, according to the DOJ. Almost two years later on Tuesday (May 20), Taranto was convicted by a federal judge for his 2023 spectacle. 'I think it's a terrible outcome under a statute that is overbroad and violates the First Amendment,' Taranto's attorney, Carmen Hernandez, told NBC News. 'Mr. Taranto is an honorably discharged, disabled veteran with no prior convictions, no history of violent conduct. He's been convicted of having made a bad joke with absolutely no evidence that he intended to carry out any criminal conduct.' He was convicted of illegally carrying two firearms without a license, unlawfully possessing ammunition and false information and hoaxes, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Crimes. It was U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols— a Trump appointee— who laid down the ruling on Tuesday. He said the livestreamed videos ultimately led to him findingTaranto guilty on all counts, according to WUSA. Taranto's lawyers argued their client simply has a 'dark sense of humor' stemming from his time in the military. Judge Nichols delayed setting a sentencing date for Taranto. Instead, he urged prosecutors to respond to Taranto's attorneys, who are expected to file a motion to release him. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Jan. 6 defendant who was arrested near Obama's house is convicted on gun charges
WASHINGTON — A former Jan. 6 defendant who was arrested after he showed up at former President Barack Obama's home in 2023 was convicted Tuesday of illegal possession of guns and ammunition. Taylor Taranto, who was apprehended while he was livestreaming video near Obama's house in Washington, D.C., was also found guilty of a false information and hoaxes charge related to a video he streamed a day earlier claiming he was on a 'one-way mission' to blow up the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled on the case following a bench trial that got underway last week. Taranto's attorney, Carmen Hernandez, blasted the verdict. 'I think it's a terrible outcome under a statute that is overbroad and violates the First Amendment,' Hernandez told NBC News. 'Mr. Taranto is an honorably discharged, disabled veteran with no prior convictions, no history of violent conduct. He's been convicted of having made a bad joke with absolutely no evidence that he intended to carry out any criminal conduct.' Taranto had posted about appearing outside Obama's residence the same day in June 2023 that Trump shared a screenshot on social media that included what he said was Obama's Washington address. Prosecutors said Taranto reposted what Trump had shared and then posted about being outside Obama's home, writing, 'We got these losers surrounded!' Investigators said they found two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in Taranto's van, along with a machete, when he was arrested. Prosecutors alleged that Taranto repeatedly said that he was trying to get a 'shot' and that he wanted to get a 'good angle on a shot.' Online sleuths first identified Taranto as a Jan. 6 participant in 2021. He was one of the roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants President Donald Trump pardoned on the first day of his second term in office. Ryan J. Reilly reported from Washington and Zoë Richards from New York. This article was originally published on
NBC News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Former Jan. 6 defendant who was arrested near Obama's house is convicted on gun charges
A former Jan. 6 defendant who was arrested after showing up at the home of former President Barack Obama in 2023 was convicted Tuesday of illegal possession of guns and ammunition. Taylor Taranto, who was apprehended while livestreaming video near Obama's house in Washington, D.C., was also found guilty of a false information and hoaxes charge related to a video he streamed a day earlier claiming he was on a 'one way mission' to blow up the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled on the case following a bench trial that got underway last week. Taranto's attorney, Carmen Hernandez, blasted the verdict. 'I think it's a terrible outcome under a statute that is over broad and violates the First Amendment,' Hernandez told NBC News. 'Mr. Taranto is an honorably discharged, disabled veteran with no prior convictions, no history of violent conduct. He's been convicted of having made a bad joke with absolutely no evidence that he intended to carry out any criminal conduct.' Taranto had posted about appearing outside Obama's residence the same day in June 2023 that Trump shared a screenshot on social media that included what he said was Obama's Washington address. Prosecutors said Taranto reposted what Trump had shared, and then posted about being outside of the former president's home, writing, 'We got these losers surrounded!' Investigators said they found two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in Taranto's van, along with a machete, when he was arrested. Prosecutors alleged that Taranto repeatedly said that he was attempting to get a 'shot' and that he wanted to get a 'good angle on a shot.' Taranto was first identified by online sleuths as a Jan. 6 participant in 2021. He was one of the roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by President Donald Trump on the first day of his second term in office.
