Thread by @JordanOnRecord

Good morning. At 9:30 we'll start off today with the sentencing for Cleveland Meredith, the Georgia man who threatened to shoot House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. google.com/amp/s/www.wusa… #CapitolRiot @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

U.S. District Judge Amy B. Jackson is presiding this morning. She says a portion of the hearing will go under seal at the defendant's request when they discuss materials relating to his mental health diagnoses and possibly service-related PTSD.

Defense attorney Paul Kiyonaga, says Meredith's parents as well as two family friends are in court today to speak on his behalf. Court also has letters from Meredith's son and from physicians who have treated him.

The DOJ says Meredith got to DC too late to go to the rally. Someone told him (via text) that Trump wanted him to go home. He responded: "Bull****. He wants heads and I'm going to deliver."

Another person asked him if he was coming home the night of January 6. Meredith responded, "No. I'm strategizing about the best way to assault this city."

Meredith's attorney says he "engaged in a lot of blather" on January 6 but it was "to quote what the government said, bull****." Says after making threats to kill the Speaker and the Mayor, he texted "lol jk."

Meredith's own family turned him in to the FBI after receiving those texts, so apparently the people who knew him best took them seriously.

On the weapons and ammo Meredith had with him, his attorney says he knows many sober-minded people who have "arsenals" in their home.

"He wasn't in his home," Judge Jackson says.

Kiyonaga claims variously that Meredith could legally have the guns, that he had them because he wanted to go shooting in Colorado with his sons, and that he had them because he feared "social unrest."

Judge Jackson is going over the list now of all the weapons and the thousands of rounds of ammo Meredith had with him, including a 150-round drum magazine. 2,500 rounds of ammo, 10 large-capacity magazines and a telescopic sight.

Judge Jackson: "What difference could it make whether a person goes to a gun store or a gun safe before making a threat?"

Judge Jackson says Meredith took his guns and ammo and "packed it all up and took it to Washington for a war."

Judge Jackson finds that the 6-level enhancement requested by the government applies, which brings the upper end of Meredith's recommended sentencing range to 24 months in prison.

We don't have access to the presentencing report filed by probation yet, but apparently it recommends an additional enhancement. Kiyonaga is notably unhappy about this and claims the government has gotten a "windfall" here.

Judge Jackson rules that the probation office is correct that the recommended sentencing guideline should be 37-46 months – nearly twice the 18-24 month range Meredith's attorney says he negotiated with the government.

The DOJ says Cleveland Meredith's family attempted to get him mental health treatment last year, and he refused. AUSA says he's "skeptical" anything will change in that regard now.

AUSA Anthony Franks says Meredith's family turning him in to the FBI means "one mother may have saved another mother."

"[Meredith's] family members and his friends, blown away as he was texting, begged him to stop talking like that," AUSA Franks says. "He wasn't deterred."

"I don't believe a lenient sentence here will deter him," AUSA Franks says. "I think he was bent on doing what he said he was going to do. Deliver heads."

DOJ is asking for a sentence in the mid-range of whichever guidelines Judge Jackson rules are appropriate (in this case, 37-46 months).

AUSA Franks also discussing the differences between this case and that of Dawn Bancroft, a #CapitolRiot defendant who also threatened Pelosi. Says she had no prior history, was already leaving the building at the time, immediately went home, etc. wusa9.com/article/news/n…

Defense attorney Paul Kiyonaga starting his allocution now. Says "Mr. Meredith had it all." Good family. Good upbringing. Says two things "blighted" his life. One is under seal. The other is the death of his sister at a young age from a brain tumor.

Kiyonaga says Meredith suffered from survivor's guilt and a "profound sense of loss of purpose."

Kiyonaga says Meredith's family and ex-wife described an "eight-year decline" in his mental health into extremism and politics.

Kiyonaga says "like many in this country, [Meredith] decries the loss of the 'good part of America.'" Says that was "twisted and distorted into an extreme ideology." Found the sense of purpose and meaning he was looking for in the "QAnon world."

Kiyonaga says Meredith was "very hyped up" on January 6. Saw it as a "vindication" of what he believed the country might be. Says some may "despise" that.

Kiyonaga skirting around the edges of the sealed material here. Says Meredith was taking stimulant medication that was contraindicated for his (unspecified) condition. Then compares him to a high school football coach who gets amped up during a game and "goes too far."

"... if you get the man the mental health treatment he needs... the possibility of those things reoccurring goes down," Kiyonaga says.

"When he sits in his cell at CTF, and the stark reality of things sets in... knowing he missed his oldest son's senior year of high school, he's motivated to never do this again," Kiyonaga says.

Kiyonaga says Meredith didn't turn down mental health treatment, he rejected family reconciliation therapy with his family.

Kiyonaga says mental health treatment "may lead to deradicalization or disavowing [QAnon]" but that's not what we're about. (Has not happened yet, apparently.) Says he wants to be able to be a father to his sons.

Kiyonaga says "there's something wrong here at this U.S. attorney's office" that Cleveland Meredith is facing years in prison and Dawn Bancroft, who recorded a video at the Capitol saying she was looking for Pelosi to shoot her, got to plead to parading. wusa9.com/article/news/n…

Also points to Troy Smocks, who got 14 months in prison for repeatedly posting on Parler leading up to January 6 that he wanted to "hunt these cowards down." wusa9.com/article/news/n…

Cleveland Meredith's friend Troy Dixon is speaking now. Says they were teammates in school and their own children have been lifelong friends.

Dixon describes Meredith as "overreactive" and "hyper reactive."

Dixon says he doesn't do social media because he thinks it's too harmful. "That's the first time I heard of QAnon! I wish I had known, because I would have told him to disengage! I didn't know how toxic it was!"

Another friend, David Lee, is going to speak now. Judge Jackson admonishes Kiyonaga and says it would have been better to have these character witnesses write her a letter so she could have longer to digest their testimony about Meredith.

Lee says what Meredith expressed in his texts threatening to kill House Speaker Pelosi and DC Mayor Bowser are "not emblematic" of the man that he knows.

Meredith's parents are speaking now. His father says he's a "good boy." The problem is "he got into the wrong crowd... some of that QAnon stuff, he really fell in hook, line and sinker."

Meredith's mother describes him as "an incredible young man" (he's 53). Says he has struggled with "unbearable hurt," including the loss of his younger sister, who his attorney mentioned earlier died of a brain tumor.

Meredith's mother says they thought it was divine intervention that he had car trouble and didn't get to D.C. in time to join the #CapitolRiot.

"The reason we called the FBI was because we thought we were saving his life," she says.

Cleveland Meredith Jr. himself is speaking now. He says he knows what he did was wrong.

"It was political hyperbole that was too hyper," he says. "I'm a protector of people. I'm a defender of people. There's not a stranded motorist on the road I don't stop to help."

"I was out of control that day," Meredith says. "I apologize to Speaker Pelosi if she heard about it, if I scared her. I apologize to my family. I apologize to my sons. I'm a good man and I'm very embarrassed about this whole situation. It's not who I am."

Judge Jackson says she's going to recess for 30 minutes to rework her comments before delivering her sentence.

Judge Jackson is back on the record. She's starting off with reading Cleveland Meredith's own words describing the hundreds of armor piercing rounds he was bringing to D.C., his desire to "surround the city and constrict," etc.

"Somebody tells him about multiple bombs found in D.C.," Judge Jackson says. "He responds: 'Ready to remove some craniums.'"

Judge Jackson laying out Meredith's tweets over January 6 and 7, showing that it wasn't simply a one-off thing. Over and over again he talked about wanting to "deliver heads" and shoot people, including Speaker Pelosi and Mayor Bowser.

"I cannot, as the defense expert encouraged me to do, cheerily dismiss the defendant's own words and accept that he packed guns and ammunition for a holiday event with his sons in Colorado," Judge Jackson says.

"He announced what the weapons were for at the start," Judge Jackson says. Says he was talking about having armor piercing rounds in relation to Mayor Bowser as early as December 28, and again on January 4.

"He talked about having 2,500 rounds of ammunition, including more than 1,000 rounds of armor piercing ammo. What was the holiday event planned for the boys?" Judge Jackson said.

"The defendant was not just sitting in his hotel room recovering from the long drive," Judge Jackson says. "The record reflects that he assaulted someone that day."

"It wasn't his first road rage incident when the police were called," Judge Jackson says. "It seems like the fight he was spoiling for for several days."

"There's nothing soothing about, 'I'd like to put a bullet in her head, ha ha ha,'" Judge Jackson says. Adds again that the people who know Meredith best took those texts seriously and reported them to the FBI.

Judge Jackson says given the fact that the threats were made in text messages to family and not transmitted to Pelosi or Bowser, that a sentence within the 36-47 month range would be excessive. Also says she's been informed he's been a model inmate.

Judge Jackson says CTF staff have described him as a "mentor to others" and a "morale booster."

Judge Jackson also describes a "heartfelt and highly unusual" letter she received from another inmate at the D.C. Jail describing the support he received from Meredith.

"There is no doubt the Cleveland Meredith his family describes is there and has been there all along," Judge Jackson said.

"I do not doubt that there was a time when Mr. Meredith was every bit the young man with the bright future that [his parents] describe," Judge Jackson said. "I was told today that he is a good boy and an incredible young man. But I am presented today with a man in his 50s."

Judge Jackson says he's had 30 years to grapple with his sister's death, to accept mental health, to deal with the issues that led to the loss of his businesses and his marriage.

Judge Jackson says Cleveland Meredith had actually been banned from his family's home and gated community and had repeatedly refused to accept any form of help from them. As my colleagues at @11AliveNews reported, he was also banned from his former school: 11alive.com/article/news/l…

Judge Jackson says even if she did put the weight on Cleveland Meredith's mental health issues that the defense would like to, he has "not even begun" the serious treatment he needs.

Judge Jackson says the reports from his family of the "remarkable change" he's undergone shown that the mental health care he's finally received in jail has been positive for him.

"The problems were there for years before QAnon came along," Judge Jackson says.

"The record points strongly for the need of a comprehensive assessment and an intensive, multi-layered treatment plan," Judge Jackson says.

Judge Jackson says the amount of firepower Meredith brought to D.C. plus the "steady drumbeat" of threats from him leading up to January 6 point to a need for deterrence.

"It needs to be crystal clear that it is not patriotism, it is not justified to descend on the nation's Capitol at the behest of a candidate who lost an election and terrorize others," Judge Jackson says. Calls it the "definition of tyranny."

🚨 SENTENCE: U.S. District Judge Amy B. Jackson sentences Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. to 28 months in prison (w/ credit for 11 served) to be followed by 36 months supervised release for one count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce. #CapitolRiot @wusa9 @11AliveNews

Meredith must participate in drug and mental health treatment. Judge Jackson said she would recommend he be placed in a facility that can provide intensive mental health treatment.

"You have a lot of your life ahead of you," Judge Jackson tells Cleveland Meredith Jr., adding that she hopes he accepts the help he needs.

MORE: Judge sentences Cleveland Meredith Jr. to more than 2 years in prison for "steady drumbeat" of threats — culminating in January 7 texts about shooting @SpeakerPelosi and @MayorBowser. wusa9.com/article/news/n… #CapitolRiot @wusa9 @EricFlackTV @11AliveNews