Pardoned January 6er Arrested Again Over Chilling Threats to Execute Federal Judges

A Donald Trump supporter who received a presidential pardon after threatening to shoot Nancy Pelosi is back in federal custody, this time accused of calling for the execution of judges who handled cases stemming from the January 6 Capitol attack.

Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr., 58, was arrested Monday, November 2, in Georgia after federal investigators linked him to a series of alarming social media posts, including an alleged threat targeting federal judges and warnings about violence surrounding the midterm elections.

The arrest comes less than two years after Trump granted Meredith a presidential pardon as part of his sweeping January 6 clemency order, raising fresh questions about the controversial decision to forgive hundreds of defendants convicted of crimes connected to the Capitol attack.

According to an FBI complaint filed October 29 in the Northern District of Georgia, Meredith allegedly posted a disturbing message on Facebook on April 23 declaring, “ALL J6 Federal JUDGES will be EXECUTED!”

Investigators say the threat targeted federal judges in Washington, D.C., who presided over January 6-related prosecutions. FBI Special Agent Richard Taylor detailed how authorities traced the account to Meredith using records obtained from Meta, Google and T-Mobile.

But the alleged threats did not stop there.

In a separate court filing seeking Meredith’s detention, prosecutors pointed to additional social media posts that appeared to warn of violence immediately following Tuesday’s midterm elections.

One October 6 message allegedly told readers to make sure they were on the “right team” before the election and warned that firing squads would begin Wednesday, November 4. Another post on October 14 described the approaching midterms as an “absolute MASSACRE.”

The disturbing allegations are particularly striking given Meredith’s previous encounter with federal authorities.

In January 2021, Meredith traveled toward Washington, D.C., intending to attend demonstrations supporting Trump’s efforts to overturn his election defeat. Mechanical problems delayed his arrival until after the Capitol riot had ended, and he did not participate in the attack itself.

However, the following day, Meredith sent a relative a message threatening to shoot then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

When federal agents investigated, they discovered a pistol, a rifle, approximately 2,500 rounds of ammunition and multiple large-capacity magazines in his trailer.

Meredith pleaded guilty to transmitting interstate threats in September 2021 and was subsequently sentenced to 28 months in federal prison.

Despite that conviction, he was included in Trump’s January 20, 2025, mass pardon of defendants convicted of offenses related to the Capitol attack.

The latest FBI complaint also reveals that investigators had questioned Meredith twice over earlier social media activity, once in November 2024 and again in August 2025. Both interviews involved posts authorities considered potentially threatening.

Federal prosecutors now argue that his history, combined with the latest alleged statements, supports treating the messages as criminal threats rather than protected political speech.

A federal magistrate judge found probable cause supporting the new criminal complaint, which charges Meredith with one count of transmitting interstate threats under federal law.

He remains in U.S. Marshals Service custody ahead of a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday, November 5. The new allegations have not been proven in court, and Meredith is presumed innocent unless convicted.

The case presents another politically uncomfortable development surrounding Trump’s sweeping January 6 pardons, which the president defended as an effort to end what he described as a grave injustice.

Those pardons covered past federal offenses, however, and provide no protection against prosecution for alleged criminal conduct committed afterward.

Now, as Americans cast their ballots in a bitterly contested midterm election, federal authorities are once again confronting a man who previously threatened one of the nation’s most powerful Democratic leaders.

This time, prosecutors say the targets were the federal judges responsible for administering justice in the aftermath of January 6.