Houston man sentenced for involvement in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

HOUSTON — A Houston man was convicted Wednesday on federal charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Andrew Quentin Taake, 35, of Houston, pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting or obstructing certain officers using a dangerous weapon on December 20, 2023, according to the Department of Justice.

Taake was sentenced to 74 months in prison, or six years and two months, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

The DOJ said Taake was on the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021. At around 1:16 p.m., he could be seen on Metropolitan Police Department body-worn camera video approaching and spraying the pepper on police officers who were trying to prevent rioters from entering the building. .

At around 1:21 p.m., Taake approached the police station again. This time, he sprayed a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers from about 30 feet away. About 30 seconds later, around 1:22 p.m., Taake sprayed a nearby group of USCP and MPD officers from about 20 feet away.

At 1:30 p.m., the DOJ said Taake, with his metal whip in one hand and bear spray in the other, joined other rioters in pushing back the police line.

Shortly after, Taake reached over the heads of the other rioters and sprayed the officers with bear spray for the fourth time. He also picked up a water bottle and threw it at other rioters in front of the line of officers.

Around 2 p.m., Taake can be seen in a second attack on law enforcement, according to court documents. As body camera video shows, Taake emerged from the crowd and struck the officers with what appeared to be a whip-like weapon. Taake can be seen on video walking through the U.S. Capitol building with the same weapon.

Around 2:20 p.m., Taake entered the Capitol building. Once inside, he headed towards the crypt, holding the whip-like weapon at his side as he walked through the building. He spent about 20 minutes inside, according to the DOJ.

Later that day, the DOJ said Taake messaged someone on a dating app and talked about what he did at the Capitol. This person then sent Taake’s name and messages to the FBI, leading to his identification and arrest in Houston in July 2021.

The DOJ said Taake did all this while he was on pretrial release for a still-pending child solicitation case in Texas.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.

Since January 6, 2021, more than 1,424 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol.

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