A Bumble suitor has been turned in to the FBI by his potential love match after he allegedly boasted about his participation in the U.S. Capitol riot on the dating app.
Andrew Quentin Taake, 32, was arrested on Friday at his home in Houston, after investigators said that he whipped and pepper sprayed Capitol Police officers during the riot on January 6.
Even as Taake took part in storming the Capitol, he was actively trying to woo a love interest on Bumble, sending selfies of himself joining the mob, according to a criminal complaint.
Taake never met up with his Bumble match in person, and just days later, on January 9, the match came forward to the FBI, providing incriminating screenshots to investigators.
A Bumble match shared these screenshots with the FBI, showing him sending a selfie (right) from the Capitol riot and boasting that he had just been pepper sprayed
The FBI says that footage captured Taake wielding a whip during the riot and using it to attack Capitol police officers
A criminal complaint details the charges against Taake in connection with the riot
The screenshots included a selfie that Taake sent, which he said had been taken 'about 30 minutes' after being pepper sprayed, according to the complaint.
Though Bumble profiles only display first names, Taake's identified him as the owner of Hi-Flow Houston, a power washing service, allowing the FBI to quickly zero in on his true identity.
Investigators discovered a number of public videos and Capitol surveillance that appear to show Taake taking part in the riot and illegally entering the Capitol.
One image included in the complaint appears to show Taake spraying Capitol cops in the face with pepper spray.
In other footage, Taake can be seen wielding a whip-like weapon and using it to attack Capitol cops before retreating back into the crowd, according to the complaint.
Surveillance footage of the Capitol shows Taake wandering the halls of the building carrying the whip, according to the FBI.
One image included in the complaint appears to show Taake spraying Capitol cops in the face with pepper spray
In other footage, Taake can be seen wielding a whip-like weapon and using it to attack Capitol cops before retreating back into the crowd, the FBI said
The FBI says that this bodycam footage shows Taake participating in the riot
The FBI was also able to confirm that Taake took a Spirit Airlines flight from Houston to Baltimore/Washington International Airport on January 5, before returning to Texas on January 8, according to the complaint.
Cell phone tower records also placed him in the area of the Capitol during the riot, the FBI said.
FBI agents interviewed Taake at his Houston home and say that they were able to positively identify him as the man seen in the incriminating footage from the Capitol.
Taake is charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, obstruction of an official proceeding and is also facing several other federal charges.
He made his first court appearance on Friday and is being held in federal custody. It was unclear whether he had an attorney to speak on his behalf.
Taake is seen in this surveillance footage entering the Capitol on January 6, the FBI says
Taake was seen wandering the Capitol holding his whip weapon, according to the FBI
Taake brazenly carried his whip through the halls of Congress, the FBI said
Investigators said they identified Taake as the man seen in the surveillance footage
It is not the first time Bumble has been used to bust a Capitol rioter.
In April, Robert Chapman of New York told one of his Bumble matches that he 'did storm the Capitol' and said that he 'made it all the way into Statuary Hall.'
The other Bumble user replied, 'we are not a match' and quickly notified the FBI.
Chapman was arrested and charged with entering restricted buildings and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and is next due in court on September 10.
For a time following the riot, Bumble disabled the ability to search for matches by political affiliation, after reports that some users were attempting to catfish conservatives and get them to incriminate themselves in the riot.
More than 535 people have been arrested In relation to the Capitol breach, including at least 165 who are charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
The investigation continues.
No comments:
Post a Comment