SALT LAKE CITY – In a hearing in which both sides agreed that some leniency was warranted, a Uinta Basin man received six years in prison Tuesday for assaulting police during the U.S. Capitol riot.

Odin Meacham, 30, from Myton, received his sentence on Election Day for crimes he committed during the previous presidential election. He remains free and must report to prison. Judge John D. Bates also sentenced him to two years of supervised release following his incarceration.

Prosecutors called Meacham a violent participant in the insurrection, who brandished a wooden pole at police, threw a metal pole and attempted to grab an officer’s baton.

Following a trial in July, a Washington judge convicted Meacham on eight charges, including assaulting police. Prosecutors asked for eight years in prison.

Meacham’s lawyers asked for three and a half years in prison. In a brief filed before Tuesday’s hearing, they suggested that former President Donald Trump bore some responsibility for their client’s actions.

They also described Meacham as someone who had a difficult upbringing that included poverty and a painful relationship with his late father.

“It is not surprising that Mr. Meacham sought to fill the void left by his controlling, narcissistic and charismatic father with someone who shared similar traits,” defense attorneys wrote.

Meacham “heard accusation after accusation of government abuse, child victimization and large-scale fraud,” the defense continued. “When Trump delegates urged people to attend the rally in DC, Mr. Meacham felt it was his duty to go and protest the enormous electoral mistake that had been made.”

According to his defense sentencing memo, Meacham told authorities during an interview that “the particular purpose, as sad as it sounds, was that Trump told us to show up. “We thought it was going to make some kind of difference because of what we thought it was telling us.”

Both sides also delved into the death of Meacham’s nephew, 19-year-old Nejourde Meacham. He was with his uncle at the Capitol and was charged with non-violent crimes.

Nejourde Meacham committed suicide, according to court documents, while awaiting trial. Both prosecutors and Odin Meacham’s lawyer agreed that he deserved some leniency following the death of his nephew.

Fifteen Utahns have been convicted of crimes related to the Capitol insurrection. Two others are awaiting trial.

Former president and now president-elect Donald Trump has said he would pardon the Jan. 6 rioters, but has not specified whether that would include those convicted of assaulting police.