A hearing is about to start on whether Cleveland Meredith, charged with threatening to kill Nancy Pelosi and bringing guns + ammo to DC (see: buzzfeednews.com/article/salvad…) should be kept in custody. He's arguing for release, govt is arguing to keep him behind bars. Stay tuned.
As a threshold matter, US MJ G. Michael Harvey agrees with the govt that the crime of making interstate threats (Meredith is charged with that + two misdemeanor weapon possession charges) is a crime of violence — Meredith's lawyer had argued it didn't qualify under precedent
Harvey hasn't ruled yet on whether to keep Meredith in custody, just that he agrees with the govt that the crime Meredith is charged with — sending texts threatening Nancy Pelosi — is detention eligible. The lawyers are continuing to argue over whether he meets the other factors
They're now going into a separate non-public channel to discuss sensitive issues re: Meredith that can't be public (that's typical for discussing things like a defendant's health)
Hearing is back on the public line — AUSA argues there are no conditions of release that would ensure safety of community, noting Meredith is accused of staying in DC after arriving too late to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6 and kept sending threats via texts
AUSA Ahmed Baset: "...the misogynistic and violent rhetoric that are expressed in these texts are horrific and essentially unparalleled"
Baset says Meredith was also allegedly involved in a "road rage" incident in DC on Jan. 7, assaulted someone, and used the n-word against bystanders; govt also believes he's a QAnon believer
Meredith's lawyer is arguing for release — she argues he intended the messages threatening to kill Pelosi as a joke and was messaging with friends and people he knew, not posting them online publicly. She said he is remorseful, and there's evidence of that in his statements
Now: A federal magistrate has ordered a man charged with threatening to kill Nancy Pelosi and bringing guns/ammo to DC last week to be kept in custody pending trial — said there was no combo of release conditions that would ensure safety of the community
NEW: A man charged with threatening to kill Nancy Pelosi and bringing multiple guns to DC last week will be kept in custody pending trial. He'd arrived too late to join the Capitol insurrection because of car trouble, according to the govt.
buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
"They are numerous, they are graphic, they are at a level of intensity that is of a concern to the court," a judge said of the texts at issue in announcing his decision to keep the man in custody. The def's lawyer argued the messages were meant as jokes buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
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