US judge says Trump’s election falsehoods still pose security risk

A U.S. judge said there is a risk that Donald Trump’s supporters could still carry out attacks similar to the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, noting the former president’s “near-daily fulminations” about his election loss have not subsided.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson made the remark in a written decision on Wednesday explaining why she would continue to jail Cleveland Meredith Jr. while he awaits trial on charges that he texted about “putting a bullet” in U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s head.

“The steady drumbeat that inspired defendant (Meredith) to take up arms has not faded away; six months later, the canard that the election was stolen is being repeated daily on major news outlets and from the corridors of power in state and federal government, not to mention in the near-daily fulminations of the former President,” Jackson said in her partially redacted ruling.

A mob of supporters of then-U.S. President Donald Trump climb through a window they broke as they storm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

Jackson noted that the charges against Meredith were particularly serious.

“Not only did defendant threaten to wreak mayhem in general in the nation’s capital, he used graphic and misogynistic language to threaten to kill particular public figures in the District in specific and violent ways,” Jackson said.

Federal prosecutors charged Meredith with making the threat and illegally possessing a gun and ammunition, according to court documents.

Meredith was not present for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, telling investigators he had to stop for car repairs during the drive from Colorado, according to authorities.

He arrived in Washington late on Jan. 6, and wrote in a text message on Jan. 7 that he wanted to “put a bullet in (Pelosi’s) noggin,” according to prosecutors.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Scott Malone and Toby Chopra)