A Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot defendant whom President Donald Trump pardoned was arrested this week, allegedly for threatening federal judges in the District of Columbia with execution.
Cleveland Meredith was accused of threatening violence against district public officials across state lines from Georgia. The message, allegedly posted on Facebook on April 23, reads: “ALL J6 Federal JUDGES will be EXECUTED!”
In the aftermath of the riot, Meredith threatened to shoot then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Later that year, he was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge in connection with the threat.
Trump pardoned Meredith, along with nearly 1,600 other people incarcerated for their involvement in the Capitol attack, in January 2025. However, Meredith appeared to keep up his alarming social media activity.
The FBI began investigating after its National Threat Operations Center received an online tip about the threat posed by Meredith’s alleged post. The FBI special agent who signed the criminal complaint cited Meredith’s “history of violent online rhetoric” in highlighting the severity of his latest alleged threat.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is prosecuting the new case.
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The defendant was arrested Monday and made his initial court appearance, according to a court document submitted by federal prosecutors. On Thursday, a magistrate judge will determine whether he should be kept in custody until a trial on the new charges.
In their Monday motion, prosecutors say Meredith should be kept in detention “because there are no conditions of release that will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community.”