Man with ties to Jan. 6 riot arrested near Obama’s DC home

D.C. police and federal law enforcement arrested a man Thursday near former President Obama’s home in Washington, officials said.

A spokesperson for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department said 37-year-old Taylor Taranto was arrested and charged as a fugitive from justice — defined as anyone who has fled from authorities to avoid prosecution for a crime or avoid giving testimony — pursuant to an arrest warrant, which was not specified.

Multiple outlets reported the warrant relates to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

MPD said Taranto was arrested in the 2400 block of Kalorama Road Northwest in D.C., but it did not confirm ties to the insurrection. The Obama family owns a home in the Kalorama neighborhood.

CBS News, which first reported the incident, said Taranto ran toward the home, was spotted by Secret Service and attempted to flee before he was arrested.

NBC News reports Taranto has been living in a van in Washington while he faces a lawsuit brought against him and another co-defendant by the widow of an MPD officer who died by suicide less than two weeks after Jan. 6. During the attack, the officer was allegedly attacked by the pair of rioters and suffered a brain injury.

ABC7 News reports Taranto allegedly had guns and ammunition in his vehicle.

MPD had its explosives disposal team sweep the suspect’s van Thursday, and the incident is under investigation, but there is no active threat to the community, the spokesperson said.

The Secret Service referred The Hill back to MPD when asked for comment.