"Start with Taylor Taranto. I've written about the mentally ill Navy veteran who trespassed on January 6 - just one of thousands of Trumpsters who invaded the Capitol - but then took up with the DC Jail crowd in the aftermath, growing increasingly unstable until when, after Trump posted Barack Obama's address, Taranto started stalking him, as prosecutors described in a footnote of a motion to gag Trump this way:"
"[T]he defendant's public targeting of perceived adversaries has resulted in threats, harassment, or intimidation. The public record is replete with other examples. See, e.g., United States v. Taranto, No. 1:23-cr-229, ECF No. 27 at 4-6 (D.D.C. Sep. 12, 2023) (affirming detention order for Taranto and explaining that, after "'former President Trump posted what he claimed was the address of Former President Barack Obama' on Truth Social," Taranto- who had previously entered the Capitol on January 6, 2021-reposted the address, along with a separate post stating, "'See you in hell, Podesta's and Obama's'" [sic], and then proceeded, heavily armed, to the area the defendant had identified as President Obama's address, while livestreaming himself talking about "getting a 'shot' and an 'angle,'" adding, "'See, First Amendment, just say First Amendment, free speech'") (quoting Taranto, ECF No. 20)."
"Like everyone else, Taranto was pardoned for his Jan6 trespass and his gun-related crimes were downgraded along with the rest of America's defense against gun crimes. Trump appointee Carl Nichols sentenced him to time served on October 30, but not before Jeanine Pirro's office tried to hide the sentencing memo ( and prosecutors) who described Taranto's role in Trump's insurrection and Trump's role in inciting Taranto's stalking."
Taylor Taranto, a mentally ill Navy veteran, trespassed on January 6 and later became increasingly unstable after associating with the DC Jail crowd. Taranto reposted what he believed was Barack Obama's address after a Truth Social post, livestreamed himself heavily armed near that location, and used language suggesting violence while invoking the First Amendment. Taranto's actions were cited in a detention order and a motion to gag. Taranto received a pardon for his trespass, had related gun charges downgraded, and was sentenced to time served on October 30 amid efforts to hide the sentencing memo.
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