Cop-Beater Pardoned by Trump Is Wanted for Soliciting Sex With a Child

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Andrew Taake, who was convicted of assaulting police during the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot and pardoned by President Donald Trump, is currently a fugitive wanted for soliciting sex with a child.

The 36-year-old Texas man was serving a 74-month sentence handed down last June after he pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors said Taake attacked officers with bear spray and a metal whip. He was released last week when Trump pardoned him along with about 1,500 others convicted or charged in connection with the storming of the Capitol.

Before the Capitol riot, Taake was arrested in 2016 after authorities said he arranged to meet with a person he believed to be under 18 to have sexual contact with the minor. However, his case did not go to trial and was paused after he was arrested in connection with the riot.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office asked federal officials not to release Taake, and instead requested his transfer back to Harris County where he still faces charges.

On Monday, The Houston Chronicle reported:

Taake was released from federal prison on Jan. 20, after being the beneficiary of the mass pardon granted to Jan. 6 defendants by the newly inaugurated President Trump. He is now considered a fugitive, and is still wanted by Harris County authorities. He was not in custody as of Monday afternoon…

The federal Bureau of Prisons at some point told the sheriff’s office that a “certified warrant” must be sent to have a hold placed on him, officials said Monday.

The DA’s office sent a copy of the certified warrant to the bureau on Jan. 15. Despite that, Taake was released on Jan. 20, shortly after President Trump signed his mass pardon.

Earlier in the day, an Indianapolis news station reported that another convict in the Jan. 6 attack pardoned by Trump was shot dead by police after he allegedly resisted arrest.