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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man is facing felony charges for assaulting officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The felony charges were unsealed Tuesday. Odin Meacham, 29, of Myton, Duchesne County, is accused of assaulting 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 with a dangerous weapon, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, a Department of Justice press release said.
The criminal complaint was filed in the District of Columbia; Meacham was arrested Monday in Myton. He is expected to make his initial appearance Tuesday in the District of Utah court building in Salt Lake City.
Meacham was among a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump who illegally massed on the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to disrupt Congress from certifying electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, the Department of Justice statement said. President Joe Biden won the election.
About 2:09 p.m. that day, Meacham tried to pull a bike rack away from officers who were attempting to hold a line; several seconds later, he rushed toward the officers raising a wooden pole above his head and slamming the pole on the upper body of at least one officer, Justice Department officials said.
A few minutes later, Meacham picked up a metal pole from the ground and threw it at a different officer, hitting the officer's left hand, the statement says. Meacham emerged from the crowd again two minutes later, shouted at the crowd to "lean in" and waved them on "in an attempt to galvanize the crowd to overwhelm the officers," the Department of Justice said.
Meacham allegedly then grabbed and attempted to take an officer's baton.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah.
The FBI Salt Lake City Field Office Vernal Resident Agency and the FBI's Washington Field Office are investigating this case and identified Meacham as No. 400 on the FBI's "Seeking Information" list. The U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department aided in identifying him along with a witness who positively identified Meacham on March 13, officials said.
The Department of Justice statement said more than 1,000 people have been arrested from nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol — 320 individuals are under investigation for assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
