Man who threatened Pelosi sentenced to more than two years in prison

A man who pleaded guilty to threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) one day after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to more than two years in prison.

Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr., 53, was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of interstate communication of threats in September. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after completing the prison sentence.

According to court documents, Meredith, while in a hotel in Washington, D.C., texted one of his relatives on Jan. 7 that he was “Thinking about heading over to Pelosi … speech and putting a bullet in her noggin on Live TV,” followed by a purple devil emoji.

While he admitted to sending the text, Meredith argued that his note was “political hyperbole.”

His guilty plea was part of a deal reached with prosecutors. Meredith was also charged with possession of unregistered firearms, possession of unregistered ammunition and possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device, but those charges were dropped as part of his plea agreement.

More than 700 people have been arrested for crimes related to the Capitol attack as the U.S. nears the one-year anniversary of the riot, according to the local U.S. Attorneys Office. More than 50 people have been sentenced in connection to the Jan. 6 attack, according to CNN. 

While Meredith was not at the Capitol for the riot, his case was part of the federal investigation looking into the deadly attack.

Meredith initially intended to drive from Colorado to D.C. on Jan. 6 to participate in the rallies supporting then-President Trump and his claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, but car troubles delayed his trip, according to court documents.

Meredith’s family member who received the text message threatening Pelosi had contacted the man’s mother, who then reached out to the FBI.

Agents with the bureau arrested him at a hotel roughly one mile from the Capitol building on Jan. 7. After receiving consent, the agents searched Merediths’s phone, truck and trailer, which was at the hotel, and found a 9mm semi-automatic firearm, an assault-style rifle with a telescopic sight, multiple large-capacity ammunition feeding devices and roughly 2,500 rounds of ammunition in the trailer.

He has been detained since his arrest in January.

In a separate text message to the same family member on Jan. 7, Meredith said “I’m gonna run … Pelosi over while she chews on her gums,” according to court documents.