J6 defendant pardoned by Trump wanted in Texas

Donald Trump may have pardoned Andrew Taake for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the capitol, but that doesn't mean that Taake has been absolved of all of his crimes.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office said Taake of Houston, age 36, is wanted over alleged online solicitation of a minor in 2016.

Before recently being pardoned by new President Donald Trump, Taake had been being held in federal prison in Colorado after being sentenced to six years in prison last June after pleading guilty to assaulting police with bear spray during the J6 riot.

After being pardoned by Trump for his crimes related to the riot, the Harris County Sheriff's Office asked that Taake not be released because of his pending warrant in Texas.

According to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, the Bureau of Prisons informed its office that there was a "certified warrant" that was preventing them from releasing Taake.

Taake was released anyway when he was pardoned by Donald Trump, and now Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare is upset about the time and money it's going to cost to track down Taake once again.

"Re-arresting individuals, like Taake, who were released with pending State warrants, will require significant resources," Teare said. "Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down, as he must answer for [the] 2016 charge of soliciting a minor online."

Taake is accused of attempting to enter into a sexual relationship with a person he knew to be under the age of 17 while using an online messaging platform.

That case was still pending when Taake was arrested by the FBI in 2021 for his crimes related to J6.

Taake still had relationships on the brain even when he was in Washington, D.C., during the riot. He was turned in to police just days after the riot by an individual who claimed to have spoken with Taake on the dating app Bumble.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons was contacted for comment on Taake's situation, but the agency said "it doesn’t discuss details of individuals who are no longer in their custody."

Taake was pardoned during one of Donald Trump's first actions in office in 2025. Trump pardoned nearly all the January 6 rioters and commuted the sentences of the rest. It was something he had promised on the campaign trail.

Was Trump right to pardon Andrew Taake, or should Donald have taken into account Taake's prior crimes before setting him free?