Cleveland Meredith Jr., 53, arrived in Washington D.C. from Georgia too late to join the Capitol riot because his car broke down, which is a good thing, because he had and assault rifle, handgun, and thousands of rounds of ammunition with him (photo below).
So he holed up in a motel about a mile from the Capitol and texted about shooting Nancy Pelosi and the D.C. mayor, and predicted that “in the next 12 days, many in our country will die.” His own mother reported him to the FBI, and he was promptly arrested. The courts have kept him behind bars since.
Meredith apparently was high on drugs, and already had a long history of mental illness before he got caught up in QAnon conspiracy theories and Trump’s election lies. (Why does someone like that have access to guns? Thank Republicans.) He cut a plea deal with prosecutors, and by the time he appeared in court for sentencing, he was sorry about it all, said he’s done with politics, was bawling like some of them do, and promised to go back into therapy when he gets out.
He got a 28-month timeout in a federal prison, with credit for time served. This is one of the stiffest sentences yet handed down to a January 6 defendant, although stiffer ones are coming as prosecutors work through the smaller fry and more dangerous perps begin coming before the courts.
This story (read it here) is chiefly notable for what federal judge Amy Berman Jackson of the D.C. circuit, who’s handling numerous Capitol riot cases, told him. She called the riot the “definition of tyranny,” and added,
“Let the record be crystal clear that it is not patriotism, it is not justified to descend on the Capitol at the behest of a candidate who lost an election and terrorize others. Canceling the votes of others at the point of a gun is the antithesis of what this country stands for. The bounds of decency and the bounds of the law have not changed one bit and they need to be enforced.”
The entire Republican Party needs to hear that speech. (Never mind Trump, he’s a basket case.) As for those who incited, organized, and led the assault on the Capitol, and on the police officers guarding it, the only thing they’ll understand is long prison sentences. Compared to them, this guy is just a brain-dead dupe. How much time should they get? More. A lot more. It should be several more election cycles before the worst of them see daylight again.
