State of Oklahoma v. Lon Brandon Meeks

Durant, Oklahoma, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with violation of a protective order.

Digested by Kent Morlan

This case involves a nearly 40-minute YouTube video posted by Meeks in May 2023 that was forwarded to his ex-wife by her boss. 2 According to his ex-wife, she and Meeks separated in 2018, divorced in 2019, and Meeks voluntarily terminated his parental rights to their daughter. She obtained an Emergency Protective Order against him in November 2019 in Bryan County Case No. PO-2019-167 because of harassment. After a contested hearing in January 2020, the district court issued a five-year protective order in April 2020, covering her and two of her children until April 3, 2025. The protective order forbade Meeks from, among other things, having contact with the listed individuals, directly or indirectly, including but not limited to calls, texts, emails, or communications via social media platforms even if not sent directly to them. According to his ex-wife, Meeks did not cease his harassment after the protective order was entered, and he texted her family members and made posts on Facebook referencing her and her children, including photographs of them. After she reported his actions to police, Meeks was charged in January 2022 with a misdemeanor for violating a protective order. She testified that Meeks continued his harassment via posts on social media even after his misdemeanor arrest. In his May 2023 video, Meeks referred to her and her children by name multiple times but made no threats. Nevertheless, she testified that Meeks "said horrible things about our children" and that she felt threatened, intimidated, and harassed.

The anti-stalking law is designed to shield a person from unwanted conduct directed toward them, meaning intended for their intake, and not to censor someone from randomly talking negatively about a private third party to others. In other words, "directed toward" limits communication to a person, not communication about a person.

Cyber stalking former intimate partners is a growing societal problem, especially with the number of social media platforms that can be used to contact someone. The evidence presented at trial, however, failed to prove Meeks's video was directed toward his ex-wife. Instead, the evidence showed a purportedly jilted ex-husband engaging in a drunken rant to an internet audience about his failed marriage and custody situation. Admittedly, he crudely explains his ex-wife's relationship history with him and other men to express his feelings of betrayal by her and the legal system. He is emphatic that he will forever call out the injustice inflicted upon him by his ex-wife and the legal system. This scenario in today's world is somewhat akin to the frustrated, drunken bar patron venting to everyone in the vicinity of his voice about the fallout from a bad romance and divorce. Unfortunately, doing so on social media platforms often has a far more widespread audience.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison with three years to be served in custody and two years to be suspended.

Affirmed