Prosecutors say a Texas man who was released from prison as part of President Donald Trump’s pardons for the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2016, is wanted for an online charge in 2016, accusing him of soliciting minors.
Andrew Taake (36), was accused of using bear spray to attack police officers and a metal whistle during the Capitol assault. He is among a few former Jan. 6, defendants that have attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies since they were pardoned.
Taake has been released from a federal jail in Colorado after Trump pardoned almost 1,600 people who were charged with involvement in the Capitol attack.
According to a press release from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, he was released on January 20 despite Texas authorities’ requests to hold him for a pending warrant. Taake had been awaiting trial for the charge of soliciting sexual relations with a teenager through a messaging application.
The DA’s Office said that re-arresting people like Taake who had been released on pending warrants would require significant resources. Know that we have already begun the process of tracking Taake.
Democrats are already blaming Trump saying he is downplaying the events of Jan. 6, when a mob of his supporters breached the U.S. Capitol in an effort to stop Congress from reaffirming former President Joe Biden’s victory over him in the 2020 presidential election.
