Andrew Taake walked out of federal prison in Colorado a free man on Jan. 20, after newly inaugurated President Trump pardoned him and some 1,500 others for their part in the 2021 Capitol riot. Law enforcement officials in Houston, however, would like to put Taake right back behind bars, reports Houston Public Media. Harris County DA Sean Teare says the 36-year-old is wanted on a pre-existing 2016 warrant on charges of online solicitation of a minor.
"Re-arresting individuals, like Taake, who were released with pending state warrants, will require significant resources," says Teare, whose office had sought to have the feds hold Taake in Colorado by sending a copy of the warrant five days ahead of the pardon. "Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down." Countered a Federal Bureau of Prisons rep: "The language (of the pardon) included notes inmates currently held in prison should be released immediately. Our interpretation is if they were on our list and were in prison, they were to be released."
As the Guardian reports, Taake is charged with chatting online with a girl he knew was younger than 17 with the intent of setting up a sexual encounter. At the time, he was 27. He was facing up to 10 years in prison on a third-degree felony charge and was out on $20,000 bail when he participated in the Capitol attack. Taake was sentenced to six years for his Jan. 6 actions in June 2024; he was charged after bragging to a Bumble date about spraying bear spray at cops and beating them with a metal whip. (More Capitol riot stories.)
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