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On Tuesday, a North Carolina man who threatened to kill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison.
Cleveland Meredith Jr., a Trump supporter from Hayesville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate communication of threats in September. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman sentenced him to 28 months in prison with three years of supervised release.
CNN reports that Meredith drove across the country to participate in the events scheduled for January 6 at the U.S. Capitol. However, he experienced car trouble and didn’t make it until after the rioters had dispersed.
Instead, he sent concerning text messages to family members with threats about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mayor Muriel Bowser. The next day, he texted his uncle he was “Thinking about heading over to Pelosi C****’s speech and putting a bullet in her noggin on Live TV.”
His uncle told his mother about the message, and she contacted the FBI. Meredith’s mother told them her son suffers from mental illness and could be heading for trouble, but she didn’t think he would kill Pelosi.
Federal agents located Meredith at his hotel, one mile from the Capitol, with thousands of rounds of ammunition, an assault rifle, and a handgun in his trailer.
He expressed his remorse and embarrassment over the arrest at the hearing, tearfully admitting he was not in control the day after the riot. In addition, he apologized to Pelosi.
“Let the record be crystal clear that it is not patriotism, it is not justified to descend on the Capitol at the behest of a candidate who lost an election and terrorize others,” Judge Berman said.
Meredith will receive credit for the 11 months he has already served in the D.C. Jail. The judge also ordered him to participate in mental health and drug treatment.
More than 700 people have been arrested in the 11 months after the U.S. Capitol riot. More than 200 of those arrests were for impeding or assaulting law enforcement. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the investigation into the riot is still ongoing.
