Jan. 6 Rioter Pardoned by Trump Wanted for Allegedly Soliciting a Minor Online: DA

Mar. 15, 2025

Andrew Taake; Jan. 6 Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Photo:U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; Jon Cherry/Getty

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; Jon Cherry/Getty

Andrew Taake, 36, of Houston, was released from federal prison in Colorado on Jan. 20, where he had been serving a 74-month sentence after pleading guilty in 2023 to one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon,according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Taake had already been on pretrial release for a pending child solicitation case in Texas when he breached the Capitol with hundreds of other rioters the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, attacking police officers with bear spray and a metal whip.

He was caught after he told a woman he met on Bumble about his actions on Jan. 6, who notified the FBI,Law & Crimereported. He was taken into federal custody in July 2021 and sentenced in June 2024; he was being held in custody at the federal prison in Florence, Colo.

On Friday, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Texas confirmed that Taake is now wanted for allegedly soliciting a minor online in 2016, when he was 27.

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In an email to PEOPLE, the Harris County DA’s office said that prior to the pardon, the county sheriff’s Fugitive Warrants division had requested that federal authorities hold him in custody due to the outstanding warrant against him in Houston.

“Although a clerk faxed a copy of that warrant on Jan. 15, Taake was released five days later, in accordance with President Trump’s pardon order,” the statement read.

“Re-arresting individuals, like Taake, who were released with pending State warrants, will require significant resources,” the statement continued. “Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down, as he must answer for 2016 charge of soliciting a minor online.”

The Harris County DA’s office requested that the federal Bureau of Prisons hold Taake when he was released from prison,Law & Crimereports.

Had Trump not pardoned Taake, he would have remained in prison until 2027, and under supervised release until 2030.

Taake’s attorney did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

source: people.com