He Arrived in DC Too Late for the Riot. He Still Got 28 Months

A Georgia man whose family says he fell "hook, line, and sinker" for the QAnon conspiracy theory has been sentenced to 28 months in prison for threatening to kill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Authorities say Cleveland Meredith Jr. drove from Colorado, where he had been on a skiing vacation with his sons, to Washington, DC, intending to go to the "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan.6. But after having trouble with his truck, he didn't arrive in the city until evening, long after the Capitol had been stormed. He was arrested at a hotel a mile from the Capitol the next day after his mother reported concerning texts to the FBI, CNN reports. Investigators say that in one message to his uncle, Meredith said he was thinking about going to an event where Pelosi was speaking and "putting a bullet in her noggin on Live TV."

In other messages, Meredith said he was "ready to remove several craniums from shoulders" and threatened to shoot Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser. When a family member told Meredith that Trump had asked his supporters to go home, Meredith replied, "Bulls---. He wants heads and I’m going to deliver." Investigators say a pistol, an assault rifle, and around 2,500 rounds of ammunition were found in the 53-year-old's trailer. Meredith pleaded guilty in September to interstate communications of threats. At Tuesday's sentencing hearing, his mother said it was an "intervention of god" that he hadn't made it to the rally on time.

His parents and two close friends testified that he had been radicalized after getting involved with QAnon. CNN reports that Meredith sobbed as he vowed that he was "done with politics" and would seek therapy when he is released. "This is not who I am, this is not who I want to be," said Meredith. "I apologize to Speaker Pelosi if I scared her, if she heard about it at all," he said. Meredith received credit for the 11 months he has already spent in a DC jail. With credit for good behavior, he is likely to be out in 14 more months, Politico reports. (More QAnon stories.)