(Michigan City, IN) - A Long Beach man was still being held Wednesday in the LaPorte County Jail on allegations that include being stopped multiple times by security in his bid to reach superstar recording artist Taylor Swift.
Mitchell Taebel, 36, of 2020 Golden Gate Drive is charged in LaPorte Superior Court 1 in Michigan City with Level 5 Felony Stalking and Level 6 Felony Intimidation (along with Invasion of Privacy and Harassment), both of which classify as misdemeanors.
The man was returned to the jail Tuesday following his initial hearing, after Judge Jamie Oss denied his request to be released on his own recognizance. Taebel is currently being held on $15,000 cash only bond.
The 33-year old Swift is in the midst of her wildly popular Eras Tour, which included three recent performances at Soldier Field in Chicago and upcoming shows this Friday and Saturday in Detroit.
According to court documents, his alleged criminal activity beginning on March 25th included sending a voice message to her official Instagram account stating that he "would happily wear a bomb if he cannot be with his soul mate.”
The following day, he allegedly left a message for Swift’s father claiming to be her “soulmate" then sent her a picture the following week on Instagram of someone firing a handgun at a gun range, with a message threatening harm to Swift and all of her dancers.
In another message to the pop artist, he said “Y’all get ready you thugs because we’re going to cancel this damn tour and still destroy you." Attached to that message was a picture of a man holding an AR-15 rifle.
In the weeks that followed, there were also messages from Taebel expressing a desire to meet with the artist, for them to be together, and to then “shoot ourselves if we had to,” per further evidence from the court.
On May 5th, police said Taebel traveled to some luxury condominiums in Nashville, Tennessee believing Swift was there and, while claiming to be a “popular TV host," asked security to let her know he was in the lobby.
He allegedly fled when police were called, before heading to Nissan Stadium in Nashville where Swift was scheduled to perform that evening. He was near a VIP area inside the stadium upon being recognized from a list of security threats and then removed for safety reasons.
After returning home, he allegedly posted a message wishing death upon those who think it’s illegal to go to where somebody lives to see if they want to meet.
Authorities state Taebel also maintained thoughts of him being elected President and Swift becoming his First Lady.
According to court documents, Swift’s management team obtained a temporary restraining order, which was served to Taebel on May 13th. He allegedly violated the order by posting more messages about Swift and tagging her on social media, having accounts dedicated to Swift on both YouTube and Facebook.
