Obama-targeting Jan. 6 rioter first entered elementary school: report

Prior to being arrested near former president Barack Obama's residence with guns and other weapons, Jan. 6th insurrectionist Taylor Taranto entered a public elementary school, according to reports.

Taranto, who has been under confinement since being arrested near Obama's residence despite a judge saying he may have to free him, live-streamed his entrance into the school, according to a Thursday report from the Washington Post.

"Montgomery County Public Schools officials say they are investigating the use of school facilities after a man who was arrested with guns near former president Barack Obama’s house in Washington was found to have entered a school with a group that booked the elementary campus to show a Jan. 6-related film," according to the report. "Taylor Taranto, 37, live-streamed himself and several others entering a gymnasium and displaying the film at Piney Branch Elementary School in Takoma Park, just north of Washington, on June 18, according to U.S. prosecutors. Prosecutors said that Taranto said he chose the elementary school because it was close to the home of U.S. Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.). Raskin has been a leading congressional critic of Donald Trump."

According to the report, Taranto's presence at the school wasn't specifically noted, and it wasn't part of a Jan. 6th group's request.

"Piney Branch Elementary School Principal Christine Oberdorf wrote to families Thursday explaining that a group that advocates for participants in the Jan. 6 insurrection, called Make America Safe Again or MASA, requested to use the school’s cafeteria from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. to show a film that day. Taranto was not a part of the permit request," it reported.

Oberdorf is quoted in the article as saying, "I understand that such news can be distressing, and I want to assure you that we are taking this matter seriously and prioritizing the safety and security of our students and staff."

You can read it here.