Another Nonviolent Jan 6 Defendant Has Taken His Own Life

Yet another January 6 defendant who was facing multiple years in prison due to a peaceful stroll through the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, has reportedly taken his own life.

Nejourde Meacham, a Utah resident who traveled to Washington D.C. for former President Donald Trump’s “Save America” rally on January 5, was facing four misdemeanors stemming from his brief entry into the building. Meacham — along with his uncle, Odin Meacham — was arrested in May after a voluntary interview with the FBI.

An affidavit filled out by an FBI agent states that Meacham was identified in CCTV footage in and around the building after the interview. The 22-year-old was first observed on the Northwest steps of the U.S. Capitol before walking through an open door. Sporting a “Trump won” flag, Meacham then meandered around the building for a number of minutes before he was peacefully escorted out of the building.

The FBI agent’s statement of facts reads:

“Based on the foregoing, I submit there is probable cause to believe that NEJOURDE MEACHAM violated 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1) and (2), which makes it a crime to (1) knowingly enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do; and (2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions; or attempts or conspires to do so.

For purposes of Section 1752 of Title 18, a “restricted building” includes a posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service, including the Vice President, is or will be temporarily visiting; or any building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance.

I submit there is also probable cause to believe that NEJOURDE MEACHAM violated 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D & G), which makes it a crime to willfully and knowingly: (D) utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the Grounds or in any of the Capitol Buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress, or the orderly conduct in that building of a hearing before, or any deliberations of, a committee of Congress or either House of Congress; and (G) parade, demonstrate, or picket in any of the Capitol Buildings.”

Meacham was arrested more than two years after the January 6 Capitol protest and minor riot.

On Friday, September 1, 2023, Kansas-based activist FreeStateWill reported that Meacham had passed away. Independent reporter Julie Kelly soon reported that the 22-year-old had taken his own life, citing a “very reliable” source.

Sadly, Nejourde Meacham is far from the first January 6 defendant to die by suicide after being charged by the Biden DOJ. In 2021,

In 2022, Pennsylvania native Matthew Perna hanged himself after federal prosecutors planned to hit him with terrorism charges due to his brief appearance at the U.S. Capitol.