Utah MMA Fighter Convicted of Assaulting Cops on January 6th Has a Dark Background

     Odin is the god of war and death, but I don't think Utah resident Odin Meacham will be making it to Valhalla any time soon, unless there's a federal prison that happens to be named that. Meacham was one of the worst offenders on January 6th. Just after 2:00 PM that day, he tried to pull a bike rack away from officers before rushing toward an officer and striking them with a large wooden pole just seconds later. Approximately five minutes later, he picked up a black metal pole and threw it at another officer, hitting them in the hand. Meacham then pointed at and taunted the officer he had just assaulted. Two minutes later, he shouted, "Lean in!" in an attempt to organize an assault on police before trying to rob an officer of his baton. 

     Yesterday, Meacham was convicted by a judge of seven felony charges and one misdemeanor charge for his violent crimes that day; he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in September. The road to a conviction was not a smooth one: Meacham traveled to the Capitol on January 6th with his then-19-year-old nephew, Nejourde, the pair driving over 2,000 miles to make it to Washington, D.C. The younger Meacham faced four misdemeanor charges for entering the Capitol building. Tragically, he died by suicide at the age of 22. Conservatives were quick to exploit the young man's death as being caused by the government. At the end of the day, with his age, lack of criminal history, and nonviolent conduct that day, Nejourde Meacham was going to get probation. If he really felt he had to take his own life over probation, he likely had other demons.

     Uncle Odin, however, wasn't done bringing pain to his family. Arrested and arraigned in May of 2023 and indicted in August of that year, Meacham pleaded not guilty, and a jury trial was set for June 17th, 2024. Beginning in January 2024, Odin Meacham filed a series of frivolous motions in an attempt to derail the case against him. Represented by public defenders, he filed motions to have his case transferred from D.C. to Utah, arguing that D.C. juries could not be impartial; and to dismiss four of the felony counts against him; arguing that one was unconstitutionally vague and that the other three should not apply to January 6th cases. Judge John Bates denied all of these motions. In May of 2024, Meacham waived his right to a jury trial and agreed to have Judge Bates decide his fate.

     At trial, Meacham and his defenders argued that the poles and baton he wielded did not constitute deadly or dangerous weapons and that the government did not meet its burden in proving intent that day. The arguments, like Meacham's previous motions, fell flat, as Judge Bates convicted the Utahn on all counts in a trial that lasted just two days. There's a good reason for that: Meacham's pure, unhinged violence spoke volumes that day, and it was all on camera.

Odin Meacham as an MMA fighter

     There's something in Meacham's background that makes his assaults more frightening: he has a 6-1 background as an MMA fighter, although he is last believed to have fought around 2014. He also taught boxing and learned jiu jitsu. He was clearly capable of hurting officers, and he did, using his lifetime of experience in fights to overwhelm police and swinging a pole so hard that it broke. The violence he committed on January 6th and the path he chose in pursuing a career in martial arts seem in contrast to the life Meacham lives at his family farm in Myton, Utah. However, some family history may explain any mental health issues faced by Nejourde and Odin Meacham.

     The two come from a huge family: Odin is one of 12 children Stanley Meacham had with two wives. Two of Odin Meacham's siblings died at young ages: his sister Rebecca being just 36 when she died in 2010 and a brother named Alexander dying before that. Stanley Meacham died on September 26th, 2020, less than four months before his son and his grandson stormed the Capitol and exactly four years before the very day Odin Meacham is set to be sentenced for his actions. The number of dead relatives is so high they have a family cemetery.

     That doesn't excuse Odin Meacham's behavior. In fact, it makes it worse. Odin came from a family that has been through a lot, and he let them down. He brought his nephew into a situation he couldn't possibly understand the significance of, took out a lifetime of rage by injuring brave police officers who were just doing their job, and is now staring down the barrel of a long prison sentence. The Meacham family is a prime example of what the MAGA movement has been doing for the past nine years: tearing apart families and the nation.