A man in Texas suspected of taking part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was arrested Friday after a match on the Bumble dating app turned him in to authorities. Andrew Taake of Houston opened up the app while he was in Washington early this year. The unnamed match asked Taake if he was “near all the action” and Taake said he was there “from the very beginning.” Taake claimed he had spent 30 minutes in the Capitol and was pepper-sprayed while “peacefully standing there.” He also shared a selfie and said it was taken “about 30 minutes after being sprayed.” Within days, the match had turned Taake in to the FBI, according to court filings.
Turns out Taake may not have been exactly telling the truth when he said he was peaceful during the riot. Prosecutors say he was involved in two separate attacks against law enforcement officers. Footage from the day shows Taake using pepper spray against police and then at another point using a metal whip to strike officers. There’s also video showing Taake walking inside the Capitol with the whip in his hand. He now faces charges of obstruction of an official proceeding, felony assaulting police, obstruction of law enforcement, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, demonstrating in a Capitol building and engaging in physical violence on restricted grounds.
Authorities started to track down Taake when they got the tip from the Bumble match and quickly tracked his flight information and reviewed footage from the day to come to the conclusion he was more than just a simple bystander. A FedEx driver ended up providing the final confirmation and helped identify Taake. He has now become one of the more than 500 people who have been arrested for taking part in the Capitol riot. And he’s now the second person to face charges after being turned in by a Bumble match. Robert Chapman, of Carmel, New York, was charged in April after he boasted to a Bumble match about storming the Capitol. “We are not a match,” the person he was chatting with responded.
Bumble Match Turns in Capitol Riot Suspect (Again) - Slate
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