Austin, Texas Authorities are looking for a Texas man who was freed from prison following President Donald Trump’s massive pardons for the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol on a 2016 allegation of soliciting a minor online, according to prosecutors.
Andrew Taake, 36, was charged with using a metal whip and bear spray to strike police officers during the Capitol assault. Since his pardon last week, he is one of only a few former Jan. 6 defendants who have attracted the interest of law enforcement.
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Following the pardon of almost 1,600 individuals charged in relation to the Capitol attack by Trump, Taake was released from a federal prison in Colorado.
According to a statement from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, he was freed on January 20th, even though Texas officials had asked that he be held for the outstanding warrant. Taake was already awaiting trial for allegedly using a chat service to solicit sex with a 17-year-old.
According to a statement from the DA’s office, it will take a lot of resources to re-arrest people like Taake who were freed with outstanding state warrants. Be aware that we are currently working to find Taake.
On Wednesday, messages were left for the federal Bureau of Prisons and Taeke’s lawyer, Brett Podolsky, requesting comment.
Other Jan. 6 participants have been involved in the following recent events:
Indiana
Days after his charges were dropped, a police officer in Indiana shot and killed a man during a traffic check.
According to state police, Matthew Huttle, 42, was shot during a confrontation between the suspect and the officer. Authorities did not disclose the reason for the traffic stop, and no additional information was made public.
Huttle was given a six-month jail sentence in 2023 after being pardoned for a petty charge involving his entry into the Capitol on January 6. He spent 16 minutes inside the Capitol recording the attack while traveling from Indiana to Washington with his uncle.
Florida
Days after being freed on felony charges for hurling an explosive device at Capitol police, Daniel Ball, a Florida man, was arrested on federal firearms charges in Washington, D.C.
Authorities searched his residence as he was being investigated for his role in the Jan. 6 incident, which led to the most recent accusation of carrying a handgun as a convicted felon. Ball’s prior convictions included battery on a law enforcement officer in 2022 and domestic abuse by strangulation in 2017.
Kentucky
Additionally, a man from Kentucky who was pardoned by the president is now facing criminal charges. For firearms charges they claim were discovered during a search of Daniel Wilson’s residence following the Capitol incident, federal authorities are attempting to send him back to prison.