WASHINGTON — U.S. prosecutors told a federal judge Thursday that they will bring unspecified felony charges as soon as possible against a delusional Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol siege defendant who was arrested last week with guns near former president Barack Obama’s house in Washington, hours after former president Donald Trump posted the address on social media.

Prosecutors did not set a deadline or describe the charges. However, a defense attorney for Taylor Taranto, 37, said at a bond hearing that none of the contemplated charges privately discussed by prosecutors relate to purportedly threatening statements that the government alleged Taranto made regarding Obama, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Rep. Jamie B. Raskin, D-Md., and a federal facility in suburban Maryland.

Neither side elaborated further, and after a brief hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said he would resume the hearing next Wednesday after court officials and the defense explore whether Taranto’s wife in Washington state or others might be able to vouch for Taranto’s home incarceration pending trial.

“This is going to take some time, unfortunately,” Faruqui told Taranto, who will remain held at D.C. jail pending a decision.

The delay prolongs a mystery over the government’s investigation of Taranto. Prosecutors said in a bond motion Wednesday that while the FBI had been monitoring Taranto’s online activities for some time, the government only obtained a warrant on June 29 for his arrest on four misdemeanor counts of trespassing and disorderly conduct at the Capitol, one day after Taranto hosted a live stream in which he said he was driving his van and intended to blow it up at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a federal facility about 15 miles north of Washington.

Taranto also “made ominous comments referencing Speaker McCarthy,” prosecutors alleged, including, “Coming at you McCarthy. Can’t stop what’s coming. Nothing can stop what’s coming.”

Law enforcement conducted an “all-hands-on-deck” search for Taranto’s black 2000 Chevrolet van but was unable to locate him before Taranto began another live stream near Obama’s house in Washington’s Kalorama neighborhood that same day, the government said.

Taranto allegedly recorded himself saying he was looking for “entrance points” and “tunnels underneath their houses,” referring to Obama’s and “the Podestas’ house” – an apparent reference to lobbyist Tony Podesta, who recently listed a home nearby for sale – and repeatedly stating that he was trying to get a “shot” and a “good angle on a shot,” prosecutors claimed.

Taranto was pursued by Secret Service agents and arrested, and a search of his parked van nearby turned up two 9mm handguns, 400 rounds of ammunition, and a machete, prosecutors said.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison K. Ethen and Colin Cloherty noted that Taranto holds anti-government views and has openly stated that he does not acknowledge the legitimacy of the U.S. or Washington state constitutions. They also argued that he poses a demonstrated threat to multiple political figures as well as the public. But he has not been formally charged with any such crimes, although the prosecutors warned that if Taranto is released, “The severity of the consequences that could result are catastrophic.”

Taranto said he has been living out of his van after coming to Washington earlier this year to take up McCarthy’s offer to show Capitol security video to Jan. 6 defendants. Separately, Taranto live-streamed himself inside a Takoma Park elementary school on June 18, a Sunday, saying he chose the school because it was close to the home of Raskin, a four-term Democrat who has been a leading congressional critic of Donald Trump, prosecutors said.

“He [Raskin]’s one of the guys that hates January 6 people, or more like Trump supporters, and it’s kind of like sending a shock wave through him because I did nothing wrong and he’s probably freaking out . . . and saying s— like, ‘Well he’s stalking me,'” the government alleged Taranto said.

Because Taranto is not charged with a violent crime and has no criminal history, prosecutors moved for a bond hearing under a provision that requires the government to show by a preponderance of evidence that he poses a serious risk of flight or obstructing justice. Despite prosecutors’ arguments of Taranto’s potential dangerousness, Faruqui has repeatedly cited conflicting federal trial judges’ rulings, including one who said her “hands were tied” from considering a defendant’s threat to public safety if prosecutors did not clear the flight or obstruction hurdle.

“If he’s not a serious risk of flight, can I detain him? Some judges have said the answer to that question is no,” Faruqui said Thursday.

At Assistant Federal Defender Katie Guevara’s request, Faruqui said he would ask D.C., jail officials, to restore Taranto’s access to his medication, saying it was “completely unacceptable” that he be withheld care for mental health conditions he sustained as a result of his Navy service during the Iraq War.