Pardoned By Trump, TX Man Booked Monday On Soliciting A Minor

HARRIS COUNTY, TX — A Texas man was booked Monday on an outstanding charge of soliciting a minor, just over two weeks after being released from prison following a Jan. 6 pardon from President Donald Trump.

Andrew Taake, 36, was arrested Thursday in Leon County by a Houston-area fugitive task force.

"We would like to thank the coordinated efforts of our office's Fugitive Apprehension Section, Leon County Sheriff's Office, and Texas Department of Public Safety for their diligence in getting this suspected child predator back into custody," said Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare.

Taake was formally booked into the Harris County Jail on Monday. His bond was denied, and his case was assigned to Court 209. His previous court date is listed as Sept. 29, 2021.

Taake is accused of attempting to engage in a sexual relationship with someone he knew was under 17. He was charged in May 2016.

But Taake was sentenced to six years in prison in June 2024 after pleading guilty to assaulting police officers with bear spray and a whip-like weapon during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Houston Public Media reported.

Taake was released from a federal prison in Colorado, on Jan. 20, after Trump pardoned him and more than 1,500 others involved in the Jan. 6 riots.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office stated that they requested federal authorities to hold Taake before his release on Jan. 20 due to a pending warrant.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons required a certified warrant, and despite a Harris County clerk faxing it on Jan. 15, Taake was released under Trump’s pardon order.

The Bureau of Prisons said it was against policy to provide specifics as to why Taake wasn’t held on the Texas warrant.

But on the morning of Feb. 4, the Harris County DA’s Fugitive Apprehension Section arrested Taake at a home in Leon County, Texas, after confirming his location through surveillance.