The defendant from January 6, who received a pardon from President Donald Trump, has found himself in legal trouble again after returning to the Washington, D.C., area. Reports indicate that Taylor Tarrant was loitering near the home of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
Tarrant had previously faced convictions for making threats against both Raskin and former President Barack Obama. During a court hearing on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols mentioned that Tarrant was convicted of possessing firearms and ammunition in his van at the time of his arrest near Obama’s residence in 2023. The judge has ordered Tarrant to go back to his home in Washington state immediately. Prosecutors have asked the judge to consider jailing him.
At the hearing, Tarrant’s probation officer reported that he had been seen near Raskin’s home in Takoma Park, Maryland, recently. Tarrant, who was described as living out of a van in D.C., was also streaming on Rumble, calling himself an “independent journalist investigating major crimes.”
This isn’t Tarrant’s first misstep. Earlier this year, he was found guilty of making a fake threat to bomb a government building in Maryland. He made headlines after livestreaming threats while in an elementary school, oddly enough, because of its proximity to Raskin’s home. Tarrant had mentioned in a livestream that choosing that school would send “shockwaves” to Raskin, whom he claimed to see as more aligned with Trump supporters than detractors of the January 6 events.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Travis Wolf raised concerns in a closed court about Tarrant’s behavior, suggesting that his return to D.C. and his livestreaming may indicate a tendency to revert to past conduct that resulted in criminal charges. Wolf also pointed out possible mental health issues and an apparent violation of Tarrant’s supervised release conditions.
In response, Tarrant’s attorneys requested time to deliberate over the case’s elements and sought permission for Tarrant to spend the holidays with family in Washington state. Tarrant has promised to return to Washington state by noon Friday. Nichols said he would decide on the prosecutors’ detention request later on.
The judge also scheduled a probation hearing for Tarrant in Washington state on December 10, warning that he would be ready to take Tarrant into custody should he breach the order.
