FBI seeks further info from public on Capitol riot
Correspondent David Spunt has the latest from Washington on 'Special Report'
A Colorado man who has been accused of threatening to shoot House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot arrived in Washington, D.C., with more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition, according to a federal memorandum.
The memo in support of pretrial detention accuses Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. of also possessing a Glock pistol, a rifle, several high-capacity magazines and at least 320 rounds of "armor-piercing" rounds.
"Thinking about heading over to [Pelosi's] speech and putting a bullet in her noggin live on TV," Meredith wrote in a text message on his way to D.C. after the riot had already happened.
In texts and on social media, the defendant made a number of threatening comments aimed at Pelosi, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. in general.
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"I may wander over to the mayor's office and put a 5.56 in her skull," one Jan. 7 text read.
Courtroom sketch of Cleveland Meredith. (William Hennessy Jr./CourtroomArt.com) (William Hennessy Jr./CourtroomArt.com)
Another read, "War time," after he received a text that said Vice President Mike Pence "blew it," likely in reference to Pence's decision not to reject electoral votes as Congress counted them Wednesday. Meredith also sent several texts directly addressing the FBI with statements like, "You get that one Marxist FBI Agent?"
Soon after arriving in the city, he assaulted a male and fled in his truck, the U.S. government alleges.
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At one point, the defendant texted that he was in his hotel room and declared that he "ain't going to jail," according to the memo.
Meredith was arrested Jan. 7 and charged in federal court with making interstate threats, according to the government. That charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
He is also charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and ammunition in District of Columbia Superior Court, charges which each carry the possibility of a year in prison.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey on Wednesday rescheduled a detention hearing for Meredith for Thursday at 2:45 p.m. ET.
The government has designated Meredith as a "danger to the community" and argued that he should "remain detained" before his trial. The defendant is described in the memo as a frequent marijuana user with a history of mental illness and a "strong apathy toward law enforcement leaders of this city and nation."
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"A clearly disturbed, deranged and dangerous individual that fantasizes about committing horrific acts of violence and takes countless steps to carry them out by driving across several states with a trailer stocked with thousands of rounds of ammunition and multiple firearms ... should not remain in the community," the memo states.
More than 170 people have been charged in connection with last week's riot, according to the FBI and DOJ.
Steven M. D’Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, told reporters Tuesday that the FBI’s appeal to the public to help identify suspects in photos has yielded more than 100,000 pieces of digital evidence that the agency is scouring through.
"The FBI has a long memory and a broad reach," D’Antuono said. "Agents and our partners are on the streets investigating leads not only here in the D.C. area, but also the country through the FBI’s 56 field offices.
"Even if you’ve left D.C., FBI agents from our local field offices will be knocking on your door if we find out that you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol," D’Antuono continued.
Fox News' Jake Gibson and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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