On June 29th, 2023 police allowed Taylor Taranto to get near Obama’s DC home before arresting him on a warrant tied to Taranto’s participation in the J6 staged riots at the capital building. I say allowed because police had LONG known Taranto was in DC. And were most certainly monitoring him to some extent. The day of his arrest the police would allege that he had explosives in his van which he intended to use in DC. Further, 2 guns and 400 rounds of ammunition were found in Taranto’s van.
YouTube Interview is the FINAL Piece of Evidence Cited in the Charges
But perhaps the craziest part of all is that the final piece of evidence used in the information to charge Taranto. Was an interview he had done with Youtuber Defender of Ants 2 weeks prior on June 17th. In fact, the video was one of 3 pieces of evidence that were found on social media platforms.
The video is the final piece of evidence reference in the information:
As you can see, FBI Agent Ethan Hawks noted that the video was “publicly posted”. Meaning they didn’t need a search warrant to find the evidence they needed to draw up charges on Taranto.
It is unclear how long police had been watching Taranto, but given his proximity to Ashli Babbitt’s death. And a pending “wrongful death” suite he is facing from the family of an officer whose cause of death was determined to be in the line of duty. You would think he has been on their radar for awhile now. None the less, it would appear that it took this interview in order for them to have the evidence needed to charge Taranto.
“TARANTO and the host of the interview then review video footage from January 6 together. The video footage pans across a crowd of people, revealing TARANTO himself, standing near the Speaker’s Lobby in the Capital Building. While watching the video, TARANTO himself makes several comments identifying himself in the video footage, including saying, “That’s me screaming, and, “This is me.”” -Reads the information attached to the Complaint.
The interview was not only used to identify Taranto, but also gave them evidence to latter use against him based on his claims and assertions he publicly made about himself.
As a result of the evidence raised against home, Taranto is face with 4 counts:
- 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1) – Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority,
- 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2) – Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds,
- 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) – Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds,
- 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G) – Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.
Note that none of these charges related to any “bomb threats” or weapons charges which the media is portraying as the cause of his arrest. But that is simply not the case. While Taranto may face additional charges related to alleged threats, or possessing 2 guns as well as 400 rounds of ammunition in his van. He has not been charged yet.
Historical Moments: Evidence in Rittenhouse Trial Provided to Defense By a YouTuber Streaming the Trial
Make no doubt about it, social media is shaping the way the legal system operates. Take the example of CJ TV submitting evidence that proved that one of the witnesses against Kyle Rittenhouse was lying. While streaming the trial from his home, CJ submitted new evidence to the Rittenhouse’s defence attorneys and 15 minutes later they used it to discredit the witness. This same evidence would later be used to further discredit all of the witnesses testimony.
Taranto was searching for “tunnels” to met “John Podesta”
This case is an incredibly unusual one to say the least. The buzz around the case largely covers up the facts of the case. Taranto was arrested looking for tunnels behind Obama’s DC home, which he believed he would met John Podesta in. While he certainly was not in the right state of mind. It does not appear that Taranto intended to harm anyone on that day, but was rather having a mental break.
Regardless the media ran with misleading headlines making it appear as if a man with weapons was arrested while running towards Obama’s DC home. When in reality, a man in shorts and a t-shirt is going through what is likely a psychotic episode while looking for secret tunnels in a wooded area.
Taranto Had NO Weapons on Him, They Were in The Van
If he had intended harm that day, why would the guns be in the van? None the less, the media can’t seem to help themselves when it can serve a narrative to make their political opposition look like deranged lunatics. No doubt these sorts of misleading headlines will continue to surface. But given how much Taranto had shown of himself leading up to his arrest, and his final stream as he wanders through the woods finding a cellphone and laptop in a bag buried underneath leaves.
Taranto had mentioned wanting Raskins “all to himself”
It appears that his intention was not to blow up or harm anyone in the final moments leading up to his arrest. Although he had made claims the day prior that he wanted representative Raskins “all to himself”. Taranto is clearly a man in need of correction, but the misleading narrative surrounding his arrest only escalates tensions as we head into another presidential election cycle. These rising tensions are used by bad actors on both sides to achieve their own political objectives.
Emotional Headlines and the Obfuscation of Truth
We need to become more aware of these propagandized headlines that are created to illicit emotions rather than facts. Rather than seeking to escalate and raise the tension, we should communicate based on fact and reason, rather than feelings.
Otherwise we risk creating a dangerous political atmosphere in which riots are classified as “fiery but mostly peaceful protests”, and well meaning protestors are duped into a staged event such as the Capital Riot on January 6th. Further the evidence used against Taranto should remind us that what we publish online is indeed published in the public. And we should be aware of how we present ourselves online at all times.
Bottom line, emotional headlines obfuscate the truth.
