Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter now at large over allegation of soliciting a minor: report

A MAGA rioter who was convicted of pepper-spraying officers and striking them with a metal "whip-like device" during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack “is still at large” for a 2016 solicitation charge involving a minor, according to media reports.

Police in Houston are on the hunt for Andrew Taake, who was released from federal custody last week after President Donald Trump issued a blanket pardon to him and about 1,500 other Capitol rioters, HuffPost reported Monday.

He had been serving a six-year prison sentence for his actions on Jan. 6, when he stormed the Capitol while out on bond on allegations of soliciting a minor online under 17 years old with the expectation that the victim “would engage in sexual contact” with him, the publication added.

Taake’s arrest came a day after authorities said the incident happened. He had been free after posting a $20,000 bond, which was revoked in September 2021, according to HuffPost.

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But today, “he is still at large” for the charge, a Harris County district attorney spokesperson told HuffPost.

“Before Andrew Taake’s release from custody in Florence, Colorado, on January 20, a member of our Harris County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Warrants Division requested that federal authorities hold him, due to his pending warrant in Harris County,” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told the outlet. “That request was filed back in 2022. The Bureau of Prisons informed our office they must have a certified warrant to prevent Taake’s release. Although a clerk faxed a copy of that warrant on January 15, Taake was released five days later, in accordance with President Trump’s Pardon order.”

He added that “re-arresting individuals, like Taake, who were released with pending State warrants, will require significant resources. Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down, as he must answer for [the] 2016 charge of soliciting a minor online.”