Pardoned January 6 defendant charged with threatening to kill federal judges

Pardoned January 6 participant Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. was arrested on November 2, 2026, and charged in Georgia federal court with interstate threats after posting online calls to execute federal judges who presided over Capitol riot cases. Meredith, who served 28 months for threatening former Speaker Nancy Pelosi before receiving clemency from President Donald Trump in January 2025, is among nearly 100 pardoned January 6 defendants accused of subsequent crimes, highlighting heightened threats against the judiciary.

Meredith's 2026 charges and arrest

• ▪Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. was arrested after prosecutors alleged he issued threats calling for violence
• ▪On October 29, 2026, Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. was charged in the Northern District of Georgia with federal interstate threats for an April 2026 Facebook post stating all January 6 federal judges will be executed
• ▪Federal prosecutors stated that Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. had been threatening and harassing online individuals and institutions for at least sixteen months prior to his arrest on November 2, 2026

Meredith's 2021 arrest and conviction

• ▪Prosecutors said that when Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. on January 7, 2021, they recovered two firearms and 2,500 rounds of ammunition
• ▪Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. was sentenced in December 2021 to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to sending interstate threats to shoot House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Threats against federal judges

• ▪Federal judges presiding over January 6 cases and proceedings involving Donald Trump have reported facing death threats and intimidation
• ▪A woman pleaded guilty to making a death threat against Federal District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over Donald Trump's federal election interference case

Post-pardon charges against January 6 defendants

• ▪A June 2026 study by Lawfare found that at least 97 of the nearly 1,600 January 6 defendants have been accused of new post-attack crimes, with 19 charged after receiving presidential pardons
• ▪The post-pardon criminal charges against January 6 defendants range from low-grade property damage to grand larceny, stalking, defrauding agencies, and planning to assassinate law enforcement officials