PASCO, Wash. – A Pasco man was sentenced to 21 months in prison for gun charges after being arrested near former President Barack Obama’s home.
The case took a turn as two federal prosecutors involved were suspended by the Department of Justice.
Taylor Taranto, a Navy veteran, faced sentencing for several gun charges stemming from his 2023 arrest. The FBI detained him, believing he posed a public threat, after finding him near the Obama residence with two illegally possessed guns and 500 rounds of ammunition in his van.
Taranto has a previous criminal history, including charges related to the January 6th insurrection on the Capitol where video footage shows Taranto inside the Capitol, moving through several areas, and later being forced out by police.
A video posted online later showed Taranto claiming, “So we’re in the Capitol Building…legislative building…we just stormed it,” said court records.
Taranto was arrested on June 29, 2023, in Washington, D.C. but pardoned by President Trump.
The original sentencing memo stated, “Thousands of people attacked the U.S. Capitol while a joint session of Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election,” said the memo.
Hours after the memo was submitted, it was sealed and the authors were put on leave.
A new memo was filed by different prosecutors, recommending the same sentence but removing references to January 6th and a social media post by President Trump that included Obama’s address. Prosecutors stated Taranto saw the post before heading to the Obamas’ home.
The judge sentenced Taranto and praised the original prosecutors. He expressed uncertainty about how the original memo was sealed or who ordered it.
Currently, any mention of January 6th has been removed from the case.
