July 12 (UPI) — A federal court has ordered a man who was arrested in the neighborhood where former President Barak Obama lives to stay in custody while awaiting trial on charges related to his alleged participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots in Washington, D.C.
In June, Taylor Taranto was spotted by Secret Service agents a few blocks from the former president’s D.C. residence. Taranto tried to evade Secret Service agents but was detained, officials said.
A search of Taranto’s van uncovered two firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and unassembled components of an explosive device.
Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said, “I do believe detention is appropriate in this case.”
Though Faruqui determined that Taranto was not a flight risk, he determined that the suspect posed a threat to the general public.
“Dangerousness is more serious than risk of flight,” Faruqui said.
Faruqui tied Taranto’s actions to trauma he had experienced as a veteran and criticized “elected officials” who had falsely suggested the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
“You have to pay the price for our failure,” Faruqui said.
Taranto previously had expressed his intention to enter Obama’s home and the home of John Podesta via tunnel networks.
Prosecutors also say Taranto projected a film related to the Jan. 6 riots onto the wall of a school, which is close to the home of Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and that he filmed children at a separate school.
Taranto’s lawyer, Kathryn Guevara, suggested that her client was attacked on Tuesday by other inmates who were arrested in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riots.
Guevara also accused prosecutors of “twisting facts,” during the process.
