Two prosecutors placed on leave ahead of sentencing of former Jan. 6 defendant arrested near Obama's home
By: President Donald (wusa. com)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON — Hours after a sentencing memorandum was filed for Taylor Taranto, a former Jan. 6 defendant who was arrested near President Obama's home with weapons, two prosecutors were placed on leave, CBS News is reporting.
Taranto, a 39-year-old Seattle man who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, was arrested two years ago when Secret Service agents noticed him acting strangely near Obama's Kalorama home. They searched his van and found two guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a machete.
Prior to his arrest, the FBI had been monitoring Taranto's livestreams on social media after he threatened to blow up his van at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The agency houses, among other facilities, a nuclear reactor.
In one video, Taranto described plans to blow up the van — saying in a 90-minute YouTube stream he was installing self-driving firmware in the car and working on a detonator. His defense attorneys argued at trial the comment was obvious hyperbole in line with the "dark sense of humor" he often displayed in the stream-of-consciousness videos he posted to the site.
Taranto was charged initially with multiple counts related to his role in the Capitol riot. Those charges were dismissed earlier this year following a clemency order signed by President Donald Trump. He went to trial in May on a slimmed-down set of firearms charges and was convicted in a bench trial by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of unlawful possession of ammunition, possession of an unregistered firearm and making a false threat toward NIST.
He's set to be sentenced on Thursday. On Tuesday, prosecutors filed their sentencing memorandum for the case, with U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro. In the memo, prosecutors said that Taranto was among thousands of rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and that afterwards he promoted conspiracy theories about the day. It also blames President Donald Trump for posting Obama's address online.
Then, two prosecutors were put on leave, according to CBS News reports.
Two new prosecutors were assigned to the case on Wednesday, according to court records. Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section attorney Jonathan Hornok and Assistant U.S. Attorney Travis Wolf were both added as prosecutors on Oct. 29.
Pirro provided this statement to CBS News:
"While we don't comment on personnel decisions, we want to make very clear that we take violence and threats of violence against law enforcement, current or former government officials extremely seriously. We have and will continue to vigorously pursue justice against those who commit or threaten violence without regard to the political party of the offender or the target."
Prosecutors are seeking 27 months of prison time for Taranto.
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So these two prosecutors pointed out in a sentencing document that the perp had been in the J6 riot, and now they've been fired.
I know you are laser focused on Jan. 6 John, but don't you think this is more likely the culprit that Pissed Judge Pirro off.
27 months for trying to kill the President doesn't seem like much. I guess the 2 prosecutors who were removed don't place much value on President Obamas life.
I don’t know if “blame”is the right word. The memorandum does state factually that Trump posted the address online, and that is where Taranto got the information.
This kind of information is something that should appear in a summary of facts in a document like this.