Man threatening to kill Nancy Pelosi arrested with 2500 rounds of ammunition

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According to a court filing, a man has been arrested in Washington, D.C. with possession of more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition.

Cleveland Grover Meredith was charged Friday for transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, possession of a firearm without a valid Washington D.C. registration and license.

"Headed to DC with a ton of 5.56 armor-piercing ammo," Meredith, who is a known pro-Trump supporter, wrote in a text message on January 6, according to a statement of facts from the FBI. However, due to an issue with his trailer, he couldn't make it in time to attend the riots at the U.S. Capitol Building. Meredith was carrying a Tavor X95 assault rifle and a Glock 19 when he was arrested at a D.C hotel.

The day after the riots, Meredith sent a text message making threats to shoot House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the head on live television. He also expressed his predictions saying "many in our country will die" within the 12 days after the riots.

"Frankly 2,500 rounds of ammunition is terrible, but you can go to any gun show in America and buy 10,000 rounds," He said. "In the scheme of things, [2,500 rounds] compared to what other people are stockpiling...it's not that much."

Horwitz also added that a weapon like a Tavor can fires rounds up to 1,000 yards.

Before the attack on the Capitol, some rioters expressed their intentions of transporting weapons to Washington via public internet forums. About 40 individuals have been arrested in relation to the rioting last week, as per the reports from the Department of Justice.

Many of these charges include fire-arm related crimes. Washington is the state with some of the nation's strictest gun laws and open carry of handguns, rifles, or shotguns, as well as the possession of ammunition, is prohibited there. The mandatory minimum sentence for illegal possession of a firearm is one year.

"The Capitol's strict gun laws prevented even more carnage," said Horwitz. "The fact that these weapons were there, anywhere near the Capitol, shows you how close to a mass killing we were. We have allowed private citizens...to acquire an ungodly amount of weaponry and ammunition. That is now coming back to haunt us." He added.

The FBI has also warned saying more armed protesters are expected to "storm" Washington as well as state capitols before President-elect Joe Biden gets inaugurated on January 20.

Publish : 2021-01-14 00:47:00

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