A man armed with explosive materials and weapons, and wanted for crimes related to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol, was arrested in the Washington neighbourhood where former president Barack Obama lives, law enforcement officials said.
Taylor Taranto, 37, was spotted by law enforcement a few blocks from the former president's home and fled, pursued by US Secret Service agents. Mr Taranto has an open warrant on charges related to the insurrection, two law enforcement officials said.
They said Mr Taranto had also made social media threats against a public figure. He was found with weapons and materials to create an explosive device, although one had not been built, one of the officials said.
No one was injured. It was not clear whether the Obamas were at home at the time of Mr Taranto's arrest.
Metropolitan Police arrested Mr Taranto on charges of being a fugitive from justice. The explosives team swept Mr Taranto's van and said there was no threat to the public.
Mr Taranto was a US Navy veteran and a webmaster for the Republican Party in Franklin County, in Washington state, according to the Tri-City Herald newspaper. He told the newspaper in an interview last year that he was volunteering for the Republican Party.
It is not clear precisely what Mr Taranto is accused of having done in the riot, where supporters of president Donald Trump smashed windows of the Capitol and beat and bloodied police officers in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. More than 600 of them have pleaded guilty, while approximately 100 others have been convicted after trials decided by judges or juries. More than 550 riot defendants have been sentenced, with more than half receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from six days to 18 years.
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On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington. AFP -
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Bennie Thompson meets Liz Cheney, vice-chair of the select committee, Adam Kinzinger and Jamie Raskin on Capitol Hill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend contempt of Congress charges for former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark for defying his subpoena, refusing to answer questions and failing to hand over documents to the committee. Getty Images / AFP -
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Lawyer John Eastman spoke with Donald Trump's personal legal representative Rudy Giuliani at the January 6 'Stop the Steal' rally in Washington. During the melee, Mr Eastman emailed Greg Jacobs, aid to vice president at the time Mike Pence, to say that it was Mr Pence's fault that the riot was taking place because he refused to block the election's certification results. Reuters -
Before Mike Pence could certify the Electoral College votes before Congress, the last step in the process before Joe Biden was to be sworn in, rioters breached the US Capitol. Outside the chamber doors, a person was shot and police officers were beaten and trampled as some rioters yelled: 'Hang Mike Pence!' EPA -
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US Olympic swimmer Klete Keller can be seen, with arms extended and wearing a blue kerchief covering his face, during the attack on the US Capitol. He pled guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding and is co-operating with the committee. AFP -
House select committee member Liz Cheney told CNN that a witness said Donald Trump's daughter and former White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, pleaded with her father to put a stop to the violence that took place on January 6. Getty Images / AFP -
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'Stop the Steal' organiser Ali Alexander gave a deposition on Capitol Hill to the committee. Getty Images / AFP -
Stephanie Grisham, former White House Press Secretary under former US president Donald Trump, leaves the O'Neill House office building following a meeting with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. Reuters -
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