The accused Capitol rioter busted with a terrifying arsenal of weapons near Barack Obama’s home got the address after it was shared online by the ex-president’s successor, Donald Trump, according to a court filing.
Federal prosecutors highlighted the apparent link Wednesday while pushing for homeless suspect Taylor Taranto, 37, to be held in custody until trial.
“On June 29, 2023, Former President Donald Trump posted what he claimed was the address of Former President Barack Obama on the social media platform Truth Social,” the filing said.
It did not elaborate on the post, which was a reshare of a 2017 article that is still linked on Trump’s social media page early Thursday.
Taranto then “used his own Truth Social account to re-post the address,” the court doc. stated.
“On Telegram, Taranto then stated, ‘We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell,” while name-dropping the Obamas as well as former adviser John Podesta.
Shortly after that post, Taranto started “livestreaming from his van” while “driving through the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington D.C.,” the filing said, noting it was a neighborhood with “restricted areas which are protected heavily by the United States Secret Service.”
Once out of the van, “Taranto’s continued narration made it clear that he intended to access or enter the private residences of his subjects,” the filing stated.
He also “made additional concerning statements,” prosecutors said — quoting him as bragging about plans to “get the shot.”
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“We’re gonna see what we can get, as a shot. If I were them, I’d be watching this, watching my every move,” he said, according to the document.
Uniformed Secret Service agents immediately started monitoring him, busting him as he tried to flee, the report said. It was not immediately clear if the Obamas were home at the time.
Agents then found the suspect’s Chevrolet van, which he appeared to be living in, parked nearby — with two guns, 400 rounds of ammunition and a machete all inside. At least 18 other firearms registered in his name have yet to be found.
“Evidence relevant to Taranto’s participation in the January 6 breach of the Capitol was also recovered,” prosecutors said — “including a hat identical to the one” he was filmed wearing at the entrance.
He’d been one of the rioters near Ashli Babbitt when she was shot dead — and one seen scuffling with cops, according to the filing.
Because of that, the FBI was already monitoring his online activity — and had issued an arrest warrant just hours before Taranto was arrested near Obama’s home, the document noted.
That was for a livestream a day earlier in which he threatened to blow up the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, as well as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Taranto stated that he was “just going one way for this mission, to hell,” the filing alleged.
Taranto has yet to enter a plea in court. A lawyer for Taranto could not immediately be reached for comment.
