Pardoned Jan. 6 defendant charged with threatening to assassinate DC federal judges

A Georgia man previously convicted in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, who was pardoned by President Trump, has been charged with threatening federal judges.

An FBI affidavit shows that a man named Cleveland Meredith threatened Washington, D.C., federal judges with execution in a post to Facebook.

“ALL J6 Federal JUDGES will be EXECUTED!” Meredith allegedly wrote in April.

The FBI says it verified that the account was associated with Meredith’s phone number and email and tracked his internet access data to his area in Georgia.

Meredith was previously convicted of threatening to kill then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Jan. 6, accusations which he pleaded guilty to.

“MEREDITH admitted to driving across state lines into Washington, D.C., on the evening of January 6, 2021, while possessing a pistol, a rifle, approximately 2,500 rounds of ammunition, and 10 large capacity ammunition feeding devices,” the affidavit reads. “MEREDITH texted a relative who was in Georgia and told his relative that MEREDITH intended to ‘put a bullet’ in the head of then Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.”

Since Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people convicted of Jan. 6-related offenses on his first day in office, several have been arrested or charged with other crimes, according to a Lawfare analysis from June. The report found that at least 97 had been arrested or charged with other crimes since the Capitol attack, at least 14 on sex crime-related charges.

Trump’s move to pardon the Jan. 6 defendants, specifically those convicted of violent crimes, drew backlash from both parties at the time. Before the pardons, Vice President Vance said in an interview that those who “committed violence” should not be pardoned.

A Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted nearly a month after the pardons found that 83 percent of Americans opposed Trump’s move to grant clemency to those who committed violent acts and 55 percent opposed his pardons for those convicted of nonviolent crimes. Just 14 percent supported the president’s decision.