An armed man, who made threats against the Obama family, has been arrested near the former president’s home. Prosecutors say a Truth Social post by Donald Trump may have led the man to Obama’s residence, but a search for that post has led to questions over the context behind the Justice Department’s detention memo.
The perpetrator, 37-year-old Taylor Taranto, has a lengthy history of making threatening remarks toward prominent political figures online. Prosecutors say Taranto went to Barack Obama’s D.C. neighborhood after former president Donald Trump posted what he claimed was Obama’s address. But context behind the DOJ’s claim is unclear.
On June 28, Trump took to his Truth Social website and posted a Phyllis Schlafly newsletter from 2017. The piece applauded Trump’s first 100 days in office. In the 23rd paragraph of the article, Obama’s home address is listed. At the time, Obama’s new brick mansion was being widely reported. Trump did not add any commentary about Obama’s address on this Truth Social post that was largely about Trump, not Obama.
Prosecutors say Taranto used his own Truth Social account to share Trump’s post which included Obama’s address. They say Taranto posted on Telegram, “We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podestas and Obamas.”
The Department of Justice says Taranto knew where to go to find Obama’s home because of Trump’s post. Any person can find Obama’s address by going to Google, or a number of news organizations’ websites because Obama’s mansion was covered extensively by the mainstream media and was highly publicized.
CNBC, The Washington Post and The New York Times covered the multi-million dollar mansion when the Obamas first moved in. Pictures and video of the interior and exterior were widely reported along with street names and neighbors, including Ivanka Trump and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The DOJ’s case against Taranto is lengthy and cites a history of threats and violence. He has been a person of interest to the FBI for many years. But it is the detail of Taranto finding Obama’s address through a Trump Truth Social post that captivated the media’s attention.
There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the DOJ’s complaint. Even though the DOJ cites Trump’s June 29 Truth Social post, it can’t be found. It’s unclear if it was deleted or if the DOJ referred to the wrong date.
Straight Arrow News can only find the post with Obama’s address in an article which Trump shared, in which case our news organization believes clarity behind the narrative was warranted.
Straight Arrow News previously reported that the 2017 newsletter posted on Truth Social was written by Phyllis Schlafly, who passed away in 2016. The newsletter was written by John and Andy Schlafly. Straight Arrow News regrets the error and has updated this report.
