The man threatened Taylor Swift, her team and management.
A man from the United States has been arrested and charged with stalking and harassing singer Taylor Swift at her Tennessee home for several months, as per a report in CNN. According to LaPorte County Jail records, 36-year-old Mitchell Taebel was arrested on June 2 on suspicion of stalking, intimidation, invasion of privacy and harassment.
As per the allegations, Mr Taebel threatened Ms Swift, her team and management in messages sent from March to May this year. It is to be noted that the singer has not been named directly in the affidavit from the LaPorte Superior Court but has been mentioned several times with references to the Eras Tour, her recent boyfriend Joe Alwyn and a song from her most recent album. Additionally, Ms Swift’s management team, 13 Management, is also named in the document.
Further, the affidavit claims that on March 29, the man sent Ms Swift a voicemail on Instagram in which he stated that “he would happily wear a bomb if he cannot be with his soul mate.” He later texted the singer’s father as well as other people who were close to her including the dancers.
It is stated that Mr Taebel arrived at Ms Swift’s Tennessee house on May 5 from Indiana and was then removed by security. Later, he made his way to Nissan Stadium, where she was scheduled to perform the same evening.
As per the New York Post, he admitted to trying to confront the singer at her residence by posting a hateful and racist rant on Instagram. He wrote, “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.”
According to the affidavit, the 36-year-old man was put on a security threat list before the performance and hence was unable to get any tickets for the event. However, he was able to get a ticket through a third-party. He was identified by the security staff who then removed him from the venue.
On May 11, a temporary restraining order was issued at the request of 13 Management’s legal counsel. However, Mr Taebel did not follow the court order and continued texting Ms Swift till May 18. A $15,000 bond was imposed on June 1 for the stalking charge.
