ABC4 Utah

Utah man arrested for allegedly assaulting officers during Jan. 6 Capitol riot

WASHINGTON D.C. (ABC4) — A man was arrested in Utah for his alleged participation in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Odin Meacham, 29, of Myton, Utah, was charged in Washington, D.C. with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers; civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds.

Meacham was arrested in Myton on Monday, May 15, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia. Court documents show that he was among the mob that gathered at the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Body cam footage reportedly showed Meacham trying to pull the bike rack away from officers at about 2:09 p.m. After that, he allegedly rushed toward a few officers, raised a wooden pole, and struck the body of at least one officer. He then reportedly picked up a metal pole and threw it at another officer, hitting him on his left hand.

At about 2:16 p.m., Meacham approached a line of officers and shouted “lean in” at the crowd in an attempt to prompt riot participants to overwhelm officers, according to charging documents. He then allegedly grabbed an officer’s baton and tried to take it away from him.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office’s Vernal Resident Agency and the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

More than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol riot while 320 of them were charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at the District of Columbia.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.