3 Tri-Cities men accused of violent roles in Jan. 6 riot pardoned. Why 1 will stay in jail
Three men from the Tri-Cities region accused of significant and violent roles in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol were included in President Donald Trump’s sweeping pardon for rioters.
One Tri-Cities defendant, though, won’t likely be leaving the D.C. Metropolitan Jail any time soon.
That’s because Taylor Taranto, 39, of Pasco, also is facing federal felony weapons charges after allegedly attempting to gain access to former president Barack Obama’s D.C. home in 2023, while federal agents were already searching for him over a series of threats to blow up lawmakers and a federal building.
Taranto remained in custody Jan. 22 at the D.C. jail’s central facility, according to jail records.
Trump previously indicated he might not pardon those convicted of violent acts, but he ultimately decided to pardon everyone charged in connection with the riot.
The language of Trump’s pardon includes everyone convicted of or charged with a crime related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Many congressional Republicans have said those accused of violent acts should not have been included in the pardon.
Trump called the rioters “hostages” when detailing his reasoning for the sweeping pardon.
Pasco man pardoned
Federal court records have not yet been updated to show that insurrection related charges were dropped for defendants after the pardon was issued Monday. However, these courts are currently working through more than 4,000 cases involving pardons from Trump and former President Biden over the past week.
Biden pardoned about 2,500 nonviolent drug offenders before leaving office.
For Taranto though, the pardon wouldn’t cover the other crimes he’s accused of committing since the riots.
Taranto has been denied bail because of the seriousness of the threats, which included Taranto claiming in messages that he had a contract to kill former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to court documents.
He spent the two years after the riot traveling back and forth between the Tri-Cities and D.C. to participate in protests. At the time of his arrest, federal agents requested an arrest warrant for him after Taranto allegedly made a series of threats to blow up a federal building and threatened lawmakers on livestreams.
He targeted Maryland Rep. Jaime Raskin for his role on the Jan. 6 committee and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who he claimed hadn’t done enough to free arrested rioters.
Taranto was arrested allegedly trying to gain access to Obama’s home, a day after Trump posted a conspiracy theory about the Obamas and former Whitehouse Chief of Staff John Podesta’s elite Kalorama neighborhood, according to court documents.
Trump later denounced Taranto in a social media post, and denied any connection to him after a photo of Taranto posing with Trump at a Franklin County Republican Party meeting picked up steam online.
Taranto’s attorneys have argued that the U.S. Navy veteran suffers from PTSD and needs to be released for treatment.
His trial is currently set for May, but had already been pushed back due to his previous public defender withdrawing over “a breakdown in communication” with Taranto, according to court documents.
After the pardon for Jan. 6 related charges, Taranto will still be facing two felony weapon charges as well as a charge for bomb threats. A third firearms charge for possessing a large capacity magazine was dropped in September after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal ban on the magazines.
Taranto also is a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit for his alleged role in an attack on a D.C. Metropolitan police officer who later died by suicide.
The pardon would not dismiss that civil lawsuit against Taranto and David Walls-Kaufman, a D.C. chiropractor who was sentenced to two months in prison after pleading guilty to his role in the riot and attacking the officer.
Taranto is accused of handing Walls-Kaufman a heavy metal tactical cane to use in the attack on officer Jeffrey Smart. Videos from the Capitol show Taranto with the cane, at one point even swinging it at other rioters.
Walls-Kaufmann admitted to “scuffling” with the officer during his sentencing, according to NBC News.
Smith’s widow was granted survivors benefits after a review found his injuries in the attack were the direct cause of his death.
Oregon brothers
Two Pendleton, Ore. brothers accused of participating in the riot also will be included in the pardons. The Klein brothers, one of them a member of the Proud Boys, helped other rioters access the building and attacked officers.
They agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors last summer and were sentenced in December.
Jonathan Klein, 24, pleaded guilty on one count of civil disorder and one count of assault on certain officers. Both charges are felonies.
He also settled a civil lawsuit with the District of Columbia for his role with the Proud Boys organization. The settlement was reached in mediation and has not been made public.
Matthew Klein, 28, pleaded guilty to civil disorder, a felony, and entering and remaining in a restricted area.
They were both facing six federal charges: conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, destruction of government property, entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly conduct in a restricted building.
U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss sentenced Jonathanpeter Klein to 9 months in prison and pay $3,000 restitution.
Prosecutors say Jonathanpeter Klein traveled to former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally as a member of the Portland chapter of the Proud Boys and aided the extremist group in breaching the capitol.
Moss sentenced Matthew Klein, now living in Baker City, to three months in prison and $3,000 restitution.
Pendleton is about an hour south of the Tri-Cities and Baker City is farther down Interstate 84 toward the Idaho border.
Prosecutors had asked for 26 months for Jonathanpeter Klein and 9 months for Matthew Klein. It’s unclear if the brothers had reported to prison because they were asking the judge to give them credit for the jail time they’d already served before they pleaded guilty.
No date to report to Department of Corrections custody had been set, according to their December sentencing reports.
Moss had agreed to let the brothers serve their sentences in Oregon.
Riot and arrest
The Klein brothers were arrested in March 2021 and were released to the custody of third-party guardians in May 2021. They have been on supervised release, residing in Oregon. A judge deemed their parents unfit to serve as custodians after allegedly encouraging the brothers to delete evidence from their phones.
Jonathanpeter Klein’s sentence is harsher because of his role as a member of the Proud Boys, as well as for attacking a D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer. Prosecutors say he threw an audio visual equipment container lid at a line of officers, hitting one in the head. The officer believes he suffered a concussion, but did not seek medical treatment, according to court documents.
He was also accused of using a barricade to help other rioters scale the walls of the building to gain access. Photos included in the sentencing show Matthew Klein climbing the scaffolding around the inauguration stage in an attempt to gain access to the capitol.
The photos also show the brothers worked together with others to force open the north doors of the capitol to let in the rioters. Mathew Klein was also accused of attempting to use a Gadsden Flag as a weapon, though ultimately an assault charge was not included as part of the plea deal.
Prosecutors say the Proud Boys and other related organizations allegedly used flag poles as weapons because they are easy to get into restricted protest areas.
