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A Washington state man is set to be sentenced this week for threats to lawmakers when he tried to gain access to former President Barack Obama’s D.C. home. But the latest twist in the case may put that court date in jeopardy. Two federal prosecutors in the case have been put on leave after describing the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots as a “mob of rioters” who “attacked the U.S. Capitol” in a sentencing memo, according to NBCNews. Taylor Taranto, 39, was found guilty during a four-day bench in federal court in May. Taranto is a former webmaster for the Franklin County Republican Party and U.S. Navy veteran. Local Republican Party officials previously said that they had cut ties with Taranto months before his 2023 arrest due to his erratic behavior. He was convicted this year of carrying guns without a license, unlawful possession of ammunition and false information or hoaxes after a series of threats to lawmakers and the former President. The now-suspended prosecutors also wrote that Taranto promoted conspiracy theories about Jan. 6 and that President Trump had posted Obama’s address on Truth Social, just before Taranto attempted to find “tunnels” to get into the residence in June 2023, NBCNews reported. Prosecutors Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, were locked out of their government devices and told Wednesday they were being placed on leave, according to ABCNews. Taranto was pardoned earlier this year by President Donald Trump for his allegedly violent role in the riot. Federal prosecutors had charged him with a number of crimes related to breaking into the Capitol and allegedly helping attack a police officer. Those charges were previously part of this same case. He was also named a co-defendant in a wrongful death civil suit brought by the widow of D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, who died by suicide that medical examiners attributed to a concussion. Smith was attacked by D.C. Chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman, who hit the officer with a heavy metal cane reportedly handed to him by Taranto. Taranto was seen in photos from the riot carrying the cane throughout the day. Walls-Kaufman, who was also pardoned, admitted to “scuffling” with the officer during his trial. Taranto was placed on hold while on trial for newer charges for threatening lawmakers and a bomb hoax. He was dismissed from the lawsuit earlier this year, but Kaufman was found liable and ordered to pay Smith’s widow $500,000. New prosecutors take over On Wednesday, two new prosecutors filed to be added to the criminal case, according to court documents. Later in the day the newly added prosecutors submitted a new sentencing memorandum, which appears to omit any mention of President Trump or Jan. 6. The original memorandum, which NBCNews reports was filed Tuesday, was not available through the court’s online portal. Court records still show prosecutors intend to ask for Taranto to be sentenced to 27 months with three years community supervision on the bombing hoax charge. Prosecutors are also asking for concurrent two-year sentences for each of the gun charges and a 12-month concurrent sentence for the ammunition charge. It’s unclear if the shakeup will lead to the sentencing hearing being moved. Taranto will likely not serve any additional time in jail. He was held without bail for nearly two years after U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols agreed he presented a threat to the community. After his May sentencing, Nichols agreed to release Taranto until his sentencing, provided he return home to the Tri-Cities and stay away from D.C. He was also required to travel to a Puget Sound veterans clinic for mental health treatment for PTSD. Jail records show he was released May 22. 2023 arrest for targeting lawmakers When Taranto was arrested, investigators found two guns in his van that he was not registered to be carrying, along with a significant amount of ammunition and multiple cell phones. A charge for a high-capacity magazine was dropped after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling said the law enforcing the ban on those magazines was unconstitutional. Taranto was allegedly in Obama’s neighborhood in response to a conspiracy theory posted by Trump on social media, which listed the address, according to court documents. His attorneys claim Taranto’s statements about “trying to get a shot” were about filming. He has claimed he is a self-styled satirical journalist. However in May, a video was introduced into evidence that prosecutors say showed Taranto admitting that his claim of being a journalist was a ruse, according to WUSA9 reporter Jordan Fischer. Trump later denounced Taranto’s actions and said the two had never met, after a picture circulated online of Taranto posing with a cardboard cutout of Trump. That photo was from a Franklin County Republican Party meeting. In the days before his arrest, Taranto allegedly had made a series of threats on livestreams and through messaging apps against former Vice President Kamala Harris, and two members of Congress for their roles in the Jan. 6 investigation. Federal agents were keeping tabs on his broadcasts after the threat to the federal building, according to court documents. He had been traveling back and forth between Pasco and D.C. to attend various protests, court documents said. Jan. 6 and wrongful death of officer His arrest came after a warrant was issued for now pardoned Jan. 6 charges because of the threats he had been making online to lawmakers, which court documents say included going onto a school campus near a congressman’s home. He also threatened to use his van as a bomb to blow up a federal building and claimed in private messages that he had a contract to kill former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to court documents. While Taranto was pardoned, along with 1,500 other rioters, for his role in the 2021 insurrection, Nichols denied Taranto’s earlier attempt to drop charges for the guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition found in his van during the D.C. arrest and the bombing threat. For his role in the Jan. 6 riots, Taranto was accused of entering the U.S. Capitol, his involvement in the attack on Officer Smith and remaining on Capitol grounds. He later identified himself in videos on a livestream. A review panel ruled that Officer Jeffrey Smith suffered a concussion which led to his suicide after returning to duty. They said the injuries suffered in the riot were the “sole and direct cause” of his death when awarding his widow death benefits. Walls-Kaufman was later pardoned after being sentenced to two months in jail.
