Bumble dating app led FBI to Capitol riot suspect: DOJ
WASHINGTON - The FBI was tipped off to a Texas man arrested Friday for allegedly assaulting police officers during the Capitol riot after messaging with a woman he met on the dating app Bumble in January, the Justice Department announced.
Andrew Quentin Taake, 32, was charged with assaulting an officer, obstructing an official proceeding, and other offenses for his actions during the riot, which allegedly included pepper-spraying several officers and assaulting others with a whip-like weapon.
The FBI received a tip from a woman he met on the online dating app, Bumble, on Jan. 9. Screenshots of their messages show that Taake sent the woman a selfie that was taken "about 30 minutes after being sprayed," allegedly telling the potential suitor that he was at the riot "from the very beginning."
Andrew Quentin Taake allegedly attacked officers with this whip-like weapon. (FBI)
Taake allegedly flew to Washington, D.C., from Houston the day before the riot and returned home a few days later. The FBI obtained pictures and videos on various social media websites that allegedly show Taake assaulting officers.
"Several of these images show Taake using what appears to be a metal whip and pepper spray to attack law enforcement officers," an FBI agent wrote in the charging documents.
Taake also allegedly entered the U.S. Capitol building with the weapon, according to the FBI.
"In these videos, Taake can be seen entering and walking through the U.S. Capitol," the charging documents say. "Taake is circled in red and can be seen openly holding the whip-like weapon."
An FBI agent wrote in charging documents that Andrew Quentin Taake can be seen walking through the Capitol building with a whip-like weapon. (FBI)
Taake is one of more than 500 people who have been charged in the wake of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, including at least 165 people who have been charged for assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Another alleged rioter, Robert Chapman, was arrested in April after bragging to a Bumble match that he stormed the Capitol and "made it all the way to Statuary Hall."
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Earlier this week, the first punishment for a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding was handed down when Paul Allard Hodgkins was sentenced to eight months in prison.
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