A ‘stalker’ who sent Taylor Swift’s father a message declaring her as his ‘soulmate’ and was arrested after showing up at the star’s Nashville home, is also an ‘anti-government’ extremist who says that he’s running for the presidency in 2024.
Mitchell Taebel, 36, from Long Beach, Indiana, was arrested after he went to Swift’s home on May 31 having already left threatening messages with the star’s management, police say.
He is accused of sending pictures of weapons to members of Swift’s team on March 25 and threatening to ‘destroy them’, according to local television station WGN. And five days later, Taebel allegedly left her father a message which said he is her ‘soulmate’ and ‘he is the only one that can make her secure’.
In March, Taebel posted a bizarre TikTok video in which he urged fellow Taylor Swift fans to prepare for the Eras tour by ‘being a step ahead of Taylor wherever she goes… watch her every move.’
The suspect says on his website that he is running for president and allegedly contacted governor’s offices in several states to say his campaign will be part of Swift’s Eras Tour on the same day and contacted her team again.
In 2018, Taebel was arrested after engaging in a high-speed police chase in Arizona. Following his arrest, he told police officers: ‘It is absolutely legal to resist arrest, with force, to the extent of taking an officers life if necessary.’
A ‘stalker’ who sent Taylor Swift’s father a message declaring her as his ‘soulmate’ was arrested after he showed up at her Nashville home and left threatening messages with the star’s management
Mitchell Taebel, 36, from Long Beach, Indiana, was charged with stalking by threatening serious injury or death, intimidation, invasion of privacy and harassment on May 31
Taebel allegedly left Swift’s father a message which said he is her ‘soulmate’ and ‘he is the only one that can make her secure’
On the day of the artist’s Eras Tour performance in Nashville on May 5, he traveled to the city and snuck into her apartment and quickly left before the police arrived, according to court documents.
He was arrested on June 2 which was the first day of Swift’s shows in Chicago. The suspect is charged with stalking by threatening serious injury or death, intimidation, invasion of privacy and harassment on May 31.
Taebel is currently in La Porte County Jail with his bail set at $15,000 and entered a not guilty plea in court on Tuesday.
The Southern Poverty Law Center maintains a profile on Taebel in which he’s referred to as an ‘anti-government extremist’ who has previous assault convictions after punching the doorman at his then-girlfriend’s apartment building who refused to let him in.
In 2013, he was arrested for ‘attempting lewd and unlawful acts against an aspiring porn star in the Los Angeles valley.’ He later tried to sue the City of Los Angeles for $1 billion claiming wrongful arrest. Taebel is also a second amendment advocate.
An investigation into his alleged stalking first began on March 25 after he allegedly threatened members of Swift’s management company.
He is said to have used a fake Instagram account to threaten one of Swift’s dancers on April 5.
Court documents state that Taebel posted a picture of someone firing a gun at a range and said: ‘If today there is the sexual performance of Vigilant s**t, you can be sure that we will destroy you and all the other dancers and (Swift) too, I think you know what happened to Joe Alwyn.’
Taebel left a voicemail in which he is accused of saying he and Swift need to meet and that he would ‘wear a bomb on his chest’.
And he posted threatening videos to Swift on Instagram throughout April with one captioned that she ‘deserves to be shot’, according to court documents.
He allegedly made his way to the top of her Nashville penthouse on May 5, which she bought in 2009, by sneaking in through an unsecured door.
And he is said to have told security he was a ‘great-looking, well-dressed, popular TV host’ before he asked if Swift was there.
The police were quickly called but he left before they arrived.
He secured tickets to attend her Nashville show the day after on May 6 from a third-party despite being on a ‘security threat/concern list.’
And he allegedly placed himself where management and performers would have to get past him to get on stage.
On the day of the artist’s Eras Tour performance in Nashville on May 5, he allegedly traveled to the city and snuck into her apartment and quickly left before the police arrived
Security are said to have recognized him and questioned him about why he turned up to her home and about his ‘obsession’ with her before he was escorted out of the venue.
And after returning to his home in Long Beach, Taebel posted a racist tirade on his Instagram page in which he admitted going to Swift’s apartment, court documents state.
‘I went to (Swift’s) apartment complex and anybody in my opinion that thinks it is illegal in any way to go to somebody’s apartment to see if they want to meet should be killed. They should die of a heart attack on a spot,’ he allegedly said.
He is accused of using the N-word multiple times during the angry outburst and ended it with ‘she had no idea a white man would come in there and talk to (Swift) like I did’.
A temporary restraining order for Swift’s management company against Taebel in Nashville was granted on May 11.
And between May 16 and May 18, documents state that he posted multiple videos to Instagram and in one of them he allegedly said his ‘dying wish is that anyone who had anything to do with them not meeting should be executed’.
They were used to extend the temporary restraining order, according to court documents.
Taebel was provided with a public defender and his next court date is on July 27.
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