Podbit · The Hidden Third
Meeink lured a rival with a fake Christmas party, pulled a shotgun, and filmed the beating as a warning video for new recruits. He held the victim overnight hoping for a ransom that never came, then released him on Christmas — certain he'd call his anti-fascist friends, not the police.
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The kidnapping is meticulously planned in a teenage way: a fake party, music playing in the background, a shotgun waiting. Meeink's motive is almost absurdly specific — he wants to prove to his new recruits that this anti-racist kid isn't as cool as they think. The filming of the assault is for internal propaganda. He holds the victim overnight, puzzled when no ransom materializes, and releases him on Christmas morning genuinely believing the victim will retaliate with his Antifa network rather than involve police. He was an alcoholic at 17 and describes his thinking as 'insane.' The subsequent trial reveals a quirk that reduces his charge: because the victim came to Meeink rather than being forcibly abducted, the charge becomes aggravated unlawful restraint rather than kidnapping — a distinction worth twelve years of prison time.
Meeink received a 3-year sentence for aggravated unlawful restraint after kidnapping and beating a 19-year-old anti-racist skinhead, a charge reduced because the victim came to him rather than being removed.
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