A Texas man, who was pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump in January for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, was arrested on Thursday for online solicitation of sex with a minor.
Andrew Taake, 36, was taken into custody on Thursday for the May 2016 charges, according to a post on X from the Harris County district attorney’s office.
“At 11:30 this morning, the Harris County District Attorney’s Fugitive Apprehension Section, in close coordination with multiple law enforcement agencies, took Andrew Taake into custody. Taake was wanted in Harris County for online solicitation of a minor, charged in May 2016,” the post read.
FBI agents used photos and videos posted on social media to identify Andrew Taake, of Houston, as having been involved in the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
The district attorney’s office said Taake was arrested after a surveillance operation conducted on Tuesday confirmed he was staying at a residence in Leon County.
“Taake’s bond in Harris County has been revoked. HCSO will work with authorities in Leon County to transfer Taake to the Harris County Jail,” it added.
Taake is accused of pursuing a sexual relationship with a person he knew to be younger than 17 while using a messaging app. The case was still pending when he was arrested by the FBI following the 2021 Capitol riot.
“We would like to thank the coordinated efforts of our office’s Fugitive Apprehension Section, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and Texas Department of Public Safety for their diligence in getting this suspected child predator back into custody,” Sean Teare, Harris Country district attorney, said in a statement.
Taake was previously accused of attacking police officers with bear spray and a metal whip during the Capitol assault. He was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon on Dec. 20, 2023.
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He was released from a federal prison in Colorado on Jan. 20 despite Texas authorities’ request to hold him for the pending warrant, according to a statement from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Taake was previously awaiting trial on the charge of soliciting sex with a 17-year-old through a messaging app.
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“Re-arresting individuals, like Taake, who were released with pending state warrants, will require significant resources,” the DA’s office said in a statement. “Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down.”
Taake was among the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the Capitol riot. Trump supporters began leaving prison on Jan. 21 after he used his clemency powers on his first day back in office to undo the massive prosecution of the unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.
Another Jan. 6 participant who was pardoned was re-arrested Jan. 22 on a pending gun charge.
Daniel Charles Ball, 39, was apprehended on a charge of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, according to an arrest warrant returned by federal prosecutors in Florida. The warrant was filed last August and police seized a .22-calibre rifle and ammunition from Ball’s home.
Daniel Charles Ball was rearrested on a weapon charge.
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia
Prosecutors had accused Ball of using an explosive device to assault officers during the Jan. 6 riot. He was arrested by local law enforcement officers in May 2023 for his alleged role in the riot.
—With files from The Associated Press
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