A Texas man pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was arrested Thursday morning on an outstanding child sex crimes charge, authorities said.
Andrew Taake was arrested in Leon County, Texas around 11:30 a.m., the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
He was taken into custody following a multi-agency operation, which concluded earlier this week that the 36-year-old Houston man had been staying at a residence in Leon County.
“We would like to thank the coordinated efforts of our office’s Fugitive Apprehension Section, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and Texas Department of Public Safety for their diligence in getting this suspected child predator back into custody,” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said in a statement following the arrest.
Taake — who was wanted in Harris County on a 2016 charge of soliciting a minor online — was one of the approximately 1,500 MAGA supporters who were convicted of offenses related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
He was accused of attacking police officers with bear spray and a metal whip.
Taake pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon in late 2023. On June 5, 2024, he was sentenced to six years and two months in federal prison.
Earlier this year, Taake was set free after a newly inaugurated President Trump issued a blanket pardon for the Jan 6 insurrectionists.
His release was condemned by Harris County authorities, who had “requested that federal authorities hold him, due to his pending warrant,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement on Jan. 27.
According to Teare, his office faxed federal authorities a copy of Taake’s outstanding warrant on Jan. 15, but he was released five days later.
“Re-arresting individuals, like Taake, who were released with pending State warrants, will require significant resources,” the district’s office said in a statement on Jan. 27. “Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down, as he must answer for 2016 charge of soliciting a minor online.”