WASHINGTON — A man charged in the Capitol riot who had guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his van when he was arrested near former President Barack Obama’s Washington home will remain in jail while he awaits trial, a federal magistrate judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui agreed with federal prosecutors that Taylor Taranto represents a danger to the community if he is released. Taranto’s lawyer said the judge’s decision will be appealed.
Taranto was arrested June 29 after prosecutors say he showed up in Obama’s neighborhood on the same day that former President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform what he claimed was Obama’s home address.
Prosecutors detailed a litany of what they said were examples of Taranto’s erratic behavior before his arrest, including threatening statements about House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and claims on his YouTube livestream that he intended to blow up the National Institute of Standards and Technology in suburban Maryland.
Taranto, 37, is charged with misdemeanor offenses in the Capitol riot. Prosecutors say he joined the crush of people who broke into the building and he made his way to the entrance of the Speaker’s Lobby outside the House chamber. Prosecutors have indicated they could bring additional charges.
In court papers urging Taranto’s release from jail, his lawyer wrote that Taranto had a “stable home in Washington state, a…
