Posted on Dec 25, 2023
Jan. 6 rioter nabbed in Bumble dating app sting pleads guilty to assaulting officers
681
6
1
4
4
0
Andrew Taake was turned in by a Bumble user who used the dating app to try to elicit confessions from Donald Trump supporters who took part in the Capitol attack.
Nearly three years ago, a young professional in the nation's capital was sitting in her apartment after the Jan. 6 attack and saw that the FBI was looking for help identifying the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. So she opened up the Bumble dating app, changed her political beliefs to conservative and got to swiping.
The woman reached out to several Donald Trump supporters who the app showed were in the Washington area, hoping to elicit confessions from those who had flooded into the city because they believed his lies about the 2020 presidential election.
On Wednesday, one of the Bumble users she turned in to the FBI pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers with chemical spray and a metal whip.
Nearly three years ago, a young professional in the nation's capital was sitting in her apartment after the Jan. 6 attack and saw that the FBI was looking for help identifying the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. So she opened up the Bumble dating app, changed her political beliefs to conservative and got to swiping.
The woman reached out to several Donald Trump supporters who the app showed were in the Washington area, hoping to elicit confessions from those who had flooded into the city because they believed his lies about the 2020 presidential election.
On Wednesday, one of the Bumble users she turned in to the FBI pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers with chemical spray and a metal whip.
Jan. 6 rioter nabbed in Bumble dating app sting pleads guilty to assaulting officers
Posted from nbcnews.com
Riots
Donald Trump
Washington
FBI
Posted 4 mo ago
Responses: 1
2
2
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Taake, a self-employed handyman who owned a pressure-washing business, had a felony record, but authorities found multiple guns at his home when they took him into custody. He was on bond in a separate case when he stormed the Capitol, with a pending charge of soliciting a minor online; court records in Harris County, Texas, show that case is still active.
Taake's "willingness to physically assault officers with bear spray and a metal whip, while on bond and conditions of release for the felony offense of solicitation of a minor, demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a concrete threat both to the community and to specific individuals,” a federal magistrate judge wrote, bolding for emphasis, in ordering Taake detained until trial.
His sentencing was set for March 26.
Taake wasn’t the only Jan. 6 defendant arrested thanks to intrepid Bumble users. Robert Chapman was sentenced to home detention on a misdemeanor charge after a Bumble match turned him in.
Reached by NBC News after Taake's guilty plea, the woman who sent his identity to the FBI was glad to see him held accountable.
“FINALLY,” the woman said Wednesday. “It’s been wild to see him still defend that attack all this time and makes me even more glad he was caught for it.”
"I regret exactly nothing lol," she said Wednesday."
..."Taake, a self-employed handyman who owned a pressure-washing business, had a felony record, but authorities found multiple guns at his home when they took him into custody. He was on bond in a separate case when he stormed the Capitol, with a pending charge of soliciting a minor online; court records in Harris County, Texas, show that case is still active.
Taake's "willingness to physically assault officers with bear spray and a metal whip, while on bond and conditions of release for the felony offense of solicitation of a minor, demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a concrete threat both to the community and to specific individuals,” a federal magistrate judge wrote, bolding for emphasis, in ordering Taake detained until trial.
His sentencing was set for March 26.
Taake wasn’t the only Jan. 6 defendant arrested thanks to intrepid Bumble users. Robert Chapman was sentenced to home detention on a misdemeanor charge after a Bumble match turned him in.
Reached by NBC News after Taake's guilty plea, the woman who sent his identity to the FBI was glad to see him held accountable.
“FINALLY,” the woman said Wednesday. “It’s been wild to see him still defend that attack all this time and makes me even more glad he was caught for it.”
"I regret exactly nothing lol," she said Wednesday."
(2)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google