A man with materials to make explosives and an active Jan. 6-related warrant was arrested by law enforcement in former President Barack Obama’s Washington, D.C., neighborhood, multiple sources briefed on the matter tell CBS News.
Several sources identified the suspect as 37-year-old Taylor Taranto, of Seattle, Washington. Secret Service spotted him within blocks of the Obama’s home, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter. Taranto fled, and Secret Service chased him. He was running toward the Obama home, but was apprehended before reaching it.
Taranto’s van was parked close to where he was arrested. There were multiple weapons and the materials to make some kind of explosive device akin to a Molotov cocktail, but it had not been assembled, according law enforcement officials familiar with the details. He had said he had explosives, but first responders only found the materials to make them.
U.S. officials were concerned because Taranto had made threats during recent livestreams on social media against a public figure. He also had an open warrant on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol. He wasn’t in Obama’s neighborhood by mistake, a U.S. official noted.
According to a senior law enforcement official, Taranto had been in Washington, D.C., area for a couple of months. He had been seen camping out in his van near the D.C. jail where many of the Jan. 6 defendants are being held, and some of his livestreams were apparently posted while he was in the D.C. area.
Taranto has been charged with being a fugitive from justice, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
The incident did not result in any injuries. It’s unclear if the Obamas were home at the time.
This is a developing story.
— Nick Kurtz and Robert Legare contributed to this report.
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