Taylor Taranto, a fanatical Trump supporter who was recently arrested near former President Barack Obama's D.C. residence with a van full of guns, was ordered to be held in detention ahead of his trial.
As reported by CBS News' Scott MacFarlane, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui on Wednesday found clear and convincing evidence that Taranto would pose a danger were he to be released ahead of his trial.
Among other things, the government argued that Taranto has made violent threats on social media to both House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD); that he was recently caught filming elementary school children as they were participating in an evacuation drill; and they argued that Taranto did not accept the legitimacy of the U.S. government.
Earlier this month, prosecutors alleged that Taranto, 37, made a live stream on YouTube on June 28th in which he "made several statements indicating that he intended to blow up his vehicle" at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md.
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Although he never carried out this plan, prosecutors allege that he then turned his attention toward Obama's house in Washington, D.C., which came to his attention shortly after former President Donald Trump posted Obama's purported address on his Truth Social network.
Prosecutors allege that, after promoting the address on his own Truth Social account, Taranto then went on Telegram and boasted to his followers, "We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s."
Correction: This article originally identified Rep. Jamie Raskin as representing a district in Virginia. He represents a district in Maryland.
