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A January 6 defendant who was pardoned by President Donald Trump has ended up in legal trouble again after recently returning to the Washington, D.C.-area and wandering the neighborhood of Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a report said.
Taylor Taranto was previously convicted in connection to threats made against Raskin and former President Barack Obama.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who convicted Taranto in a bench trial earlier this year of charges that he illegally possessed guns and ammunition in his van when he was arrested near Obama’s home in the nation’s capital in 2023, ordered Taranto at a court hearing Thursday to immediately return to his home in Washington state, according to Politico. The outlet cited Nichols as saying he will consider a request from prosecutors to jail Taranto.
At the hearing, Taranto’s probation officer told the judge that the man was seen by local police near Raskin’s home in Takoma Park, Md., on Tuesday morning, Axios reported. The officer said Taranto was “living out of his van” while in D.C. and streaming on Rumble as a self-described “independent journalist investigating major crimes,” according to the outlet.
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Nichols also convicted Taranto earlier this year of recording himself making a hoax threat to bomb a government building in Maryland. Taranto drew headlines in 2023 when he entered a Maryland elementary school while livestreaming apparent threats to Raskin, who is from the state, Politico reported.
“In a livestream, where Taranto answered questions from his Internet audience, he stated that he specifically chose the elementary school due to its proximity to Congressman (Jamie) Raskin’s home and that he is targeting Raskin because ‘he’s one of the guys that hates January 6 people, or more like Trump supporters, and it’s kind of like sending a shockwave through him because I did nothing wrong, and he’s probably freaking out and saying s— like, ‘Well he’s stalking me,'” prosecutors said at the time.
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Travis Wolf, during a closed court session, argued that Taranto’s return to the Washington, D.C.-area and his renewed livestreaming and erratic behavior raise concerns that he is “on the path” to the same conduct that led to criminal charges against him in 2023, according to Politico.
Wolf reportedly described mental health concerns and alleged violations of Taranto’s supervised release conditions.
Taranto’s attorney asked for more time to review elements of the case and requested that Taranto be allowed to return home to Washington state to spend time with his family over the holidays, Politico added.
Taranto swore to drive back to Washington state by noon on Friday, and Nichols said he would decide on the government’s detention request later, according to Politico.
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The outlet added that Nichols required Taranto to attend a probation hearing in Washington state on Dec. 10 and said that he is “absolutely prepared” to bring Taranto into custody if any of his orders are violated.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano, David Spunt and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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