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Courts & Justice

Prosecutors charge Trump-pardoned Jan. 6 defendant with threatening to kill federal judges

Cleveland Meredith is accused over an April Facebook post saying J6 federal judges will be executed, and prosecutors want him held until trial.

8 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from conservative outlets
Liberal4 outletsa pardoned rioter's new threats and pattern of reoffendingCenter3 outletsthe FBI affidavit and the charge against MeredithConservative1 outletthe arrest, the FBI tip and the detention fight
Published 3 min read
Overview

Cleveland Meredith was arrested on Monday and charged with threatening federal judges. After the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, he threatened to shoot then- Nancy Pelosi. He to a charge over that threat and received a 28-month sentence.

Trump him on his first day back in office, in a order covering nearly 1,600 people. The new charge is interstate communication of threats, a federal felony. He is accused of posting on Facebook from Georgia on April 23: "ALL J6 Federal JUDGES will be EXECUTED!"

The agent who signed the complaint points to his "history of violent online rhetoric." Agents had questioned him twice before about posts that seemed threatening. Prosecutors want him held until trial and say no release conditions would reasonably assure the safety of others.

The Washington Examiner reports that a magistrate judge is to decide on Thursday whether he stays in custody. The Guardian reports that the government also cites later posts, including one warning of "firing squads" after the . According to the Daily Beast, a federal judge found probable cause on Oct. 29 to believe he broke the law.

Key figures
  • nearly 1,600 people covered by Trump's January 2025 clemency order — Washington Examiner
  • at least 97 pardoned Jan. 6 defendants arrested again as of June, per The New Republic — The New Republic
  • at least the last sixteen months period of online threats and harassment, by prosecutors' account — The Guardian (US)

Three sides of the story

Liberal4 outlets

a pardoned rioter's new threats and pattern of reoffending

The Guardian leads with a man Trump pardoned who now faces new charges, and sets out the government's complaint: an April post saying judges would be executed, and later posts about "firing squads" after the midterms. It says prosecutors call the post part of a campaign of threats and harassment lasting at least sixteen months. The paper places Meredith among Trump's J6 defendants who, in its words, "have, or allegedly have, reoffended."

The New Republic puts the FBI at the center, quoting agent Richard Taylor's complaint, and adds that at least 97 pardoned Capitol insurrectionists, about one in 16, had been arrested as of June. The Daily Beast adds reporting from The New Yorker on Meredith turning hostile toward relatives and his lawyer after the pardon, and says it contacted the White House and for comment. The New York Times reports that he was arrested Monday, accused of threatening federal judges, prosecutors said.

Center3 outlets

the FBI affidavit and the charge against Meredith

Newsweek's report centers on the FBI affidavit filed Oct. 29, which accuses Meredith of posting the April Facebook message from Georgia against officials in Washington. It says he faces a charge of interstate communication of threats, a federal felony, and that FBI agents had questioned him on two occasions, in 2024 and 2025, about posts that seemed threatening. It recalls his 2021 sentence of 28 months in prison after a threat to shoot Pelosi, who was then House speaker, and says he later received a pardon along with "more than a thousand others."

Newsweek labels it a developing story. The Hill's headline says the Georgia man is charged with threatening to assassinate DC federal judges. Its report says an FBI affidavit shows he threatened them with execution in a Facebook post and that Trump pardoned him.

Conservative1 outlet

the arrest, the FBI tip and the detention fight

The Washington Examiner reports that the pardoned defendant was arrested on Monday, allegedly over a threat of execution against federal judges in the District of Columbia, sent from Georgia. It quotes the April 23 Facebook post and recalls that he threatened to shoot then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and was sentenced to 28 months before Trump pardoned him, with nearly 1,600 others, in January 2025. It says Meredith "appeared to keep up his alarming social media activity."

The FBI's investigation began after an online tip reached its National Threat Operations Center, and the agent who signed the complaint cited his "history of violent online rhetoric." The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is prosecuting. Prosecutors' Monday motion says no release conditions would reasonably assure the safety of others, and a magistrate judge is to determine on Thursday whether he stays in custody.

All sources: 8 articles from 8 outlets

Liberal (4)

Center (3)

Conservative (1)

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