LaPorte County man jailed on charges of stalking and threatening Taylor Swift, concertgoers

MICHIGAN CITY — A LaPorte County man was being held in jail Thursday after being accused of stalking Taylor Swift and making disturbing threats against her, her security team and attendees of her current Eras Tour.

Mitchell T. Taebel, a 36-year-old Long Beach, Ind. resident, is charged with felony charges of stalking and intimidation, along with misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy and harassment.

Swift recently played at Soldier Field in Chicago and is scheduled to play Friday and Saturday in Detroit.

All you need to be prepared: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in Detroit this weekend

Taebel has managed to make it into Swift's proximity at least twice in Nashville, police say.

Prosecutors say Taebel sent a voice message to Swift through her official Instagram account on May 25 stating "he would happily wear a bomb if he cannot be with his soulmate."

He's accused of sending a message to Swift's father the next day claiming to be her soulmate and subsequently sent Swift herself a photo of someone firing a handgun at a firing range. Prosecutors say that photo included a message threatening to harm Swift and all of her dancers.

Taebel also has a YouTube page featuring several videos about Swift and saying he and Swift would be married.

On May 5, police said, Taebel traveled to some luxury condominiums in Nashville, 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 but showed up at Nissan Stadium that night for Swift's scheduled concert.

He was reportedly recognized from a list of known security threats and removed from being near a VIP area.

After returning home, he allegedly posted a message wishing death for people who think it’s illegal to go to where somebody lives to see if they want to meet.

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,” according to court documents.

Attached to that message was a picture of a man holding an AR-15 rifle, police said.

In the coming weeks, there were also messages from Taebel expressing a desire to meet and for them to be together and then “shoot ourselves if we had to,” prosecutors allege in court documents.

According to court documents, Swift’s management team obtained a temporary restraining order, which was served to Taebel on May 13.

He allegedly violated the order by posting more messages about Swift and tagging her on social media, prosecutors allege.

Taebel made his initial court appearance Tuesday, when Judge Jamie Oss denied his request to be released on his own recognizance, instead requring a $15,000 cash-only bond for Taebel's release.

In addition to videos detailing his obsession with Swift, Taebel's YouTube channel also suggests he was previously arrested near Phoenix in 2018 after leading police on a 60-mile car chase and threatening to kill officers. Taebel has a video on his YouTube channel that is a compilation of numerous news outlets' coverage of that chase and his statements after his arrest.

2018 incident: Police chase ends in violent, head-on crash in Tempe

That chase ended when Taebel's vehicle hit an oncoming civilian vehicle head-on. He was originally charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, endangerment, and unlawful flight from a pursuing law enforcement vehicle. Those charges were dismissed in 2021 because of mental incompetence, according to the Arizona Republic.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Taylor Swift stalking case: Indiana man arrested on felony charges