Mark Meechan () (born 19 October 1987) is a Scottish

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

, comedian, and former candidate for the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. He uses the pseudonym Count Dankula. Meechan received press coverage when he posted a video showing him teaching his girlfriend's dog how to raise its paw in the manner of a

Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...

, and to react to the phrase "Do you wanna gas the Jews?" Meechan was arrested and convicted of being "grossly offensive" under the

Communications Act 2003 The Communications Act 2003 (c. 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act, which came into force on 25 July 2003, superseded the Telecommunications Act 1984. The new act was the responsibility of Culture Secretary Tessa ...

, following a trial in March 2018. The arrest generated controversy and discussions about

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

. In April 2018, Meechan was fined £800. Meechan stated he would not pay the fine, and instead donated £800 to the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity. In March 2019, the money was seized from his bank account by an arrestment order.

Arrest

In April 2016, Meechan posted a video on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

of his girlfriend's pet

pug The Pug is a breed of dog with the physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. An ancient breed, with roots dating back to 400 B.C., they have a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, most ...

Buddha titled "M8 Yer Dugs A Nazi". At the start of the video, he says: "My girlfriend is always ranting and raving about how cute and adorable her wee dog is so I thought I would turn him into the least cute thing I could think of, which is a

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

." In the video, the dog, prompted by the command "

Sieg Heil The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...

", raises his right paw in the manner of a Nazi salute, watches a speech by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

(footage shown from the ''

Triumph of the Will ''Triumph of the Will'' () is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his name appears in the opening ...

''), and responds immediately when Meechan asks if he wants to " gas the Jews". It ends with images of Hitler and Buddha the dog depicted with a

toothbrush moustache The toothbrush moustache is a List of facial hairstyles, style of moustache in which the sides are vertical (or nearly so), often approximating the width of the nose and visually resembling the bristles on a toothbrush. First becoming popular in ...

similar to Hitler's. Meechan was arrested on suspicion of breaching the

. On 19 March 2018, Meechan was convicted of breaching the act by Sheriff Derek O'Carroll at Airdrie Sheriff Court. The court ruled that Meechan's claim that the video was a joke intended for his girlfriend "lacked credibility" as Meechan's girlfriend did not subscribe to the YouTube channel to which the video was posted. On 23 April 2018, Meechan was sentenced to a fine of £800, with no prison sentence.

Reaction

Approximately 500 people gathered in London to protest for

when the sentence was handed out. Following Meechan's conviction, British comedians

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...

and

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, author and singer. He became known for his early work alongside Rob Newman in '' The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and later for his comedy partnership w ...

made comments supporting Meechan. Others who opposed the prosecution included

Kenan Malik Kenan Malik (born 26 January 1960) is a British writer, lecturer and broadcaster, trained in neurobiology and the history of science. As an academic author, his focus is on the philosophy of biology, and contemporary theories of multiculturalis ...

, Tim Blair, Helen Dale, Douglas Murray,

Jordan Peterson Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator. He received widespread attention in the late 2010s for his views on cultural and political issues. Often described as Conservatism, conservativ ...

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

, Tom Walker,

Shappi Khorsandi Shaparak Khorsandi (, ; born 8 June 1973), who previously performed as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family left Iran for ...

Marc Randazza Marc J. Randazza (born November 26, 1969) is an American attorney and InfoWars legal commentator, who specializes in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Early life and education Randazza was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, ...

, Jonathan Turley and

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

Index on Censorship Index on Censorship is an organisation campaigning for freedom of expression. It produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association wit ...

CEO Jodie Ginsberg stated that the right to free expression must include the right to offend, "otherwise the freedom is meaningless". Sitcom writer

Graham Linehan Graham George Linehan (; born May 1968) is an Irish comedy writer and anti-transgender activist. He created or co-created the sitcoms ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), '' Black Books'' (2000–2004), and ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), and has wri ...

initially condemned Meechan (however Linehan has since retracted his condemnation and apologised to Meechan). Meechan responded by saying that Linehan's show ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...

'' also contained Nazi-related jokes. Meechan was scrutinised for embracing support from right-wing figures

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American Far-right politics, far-right radio host, radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas. ''The Alex Jones Show'' is the lo ...

and

Tommy Robinson Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (' Yaxley; born 27 November 1982), better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British anti-Islam sentiment, anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK's most prominent far-right activists. Robinson has been active in ...

, to which he replied: "Imagine totally abandoning protecting human rights, just because someone you don't like is defending them too. Astounding." On 6 May 2018, Meechan spoke at the "Day for Freedom" rally, organised by Robinson, which was described as far-right by news media and observers. David Coburn, the

United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, released a two-page statement condemning the ruling as "an embarrassment".

Philip Davies Sir Philip Andrew Davies (born 5 January 1972) is a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley in West Yorkshire following the 2005 general election until 2024. He voted against the Conservativ ...

, Conservative MP for Shipley, brought up Meechan's case in the House of Commons and said: "Can we have a debate about freedom of speech in this country – something this country has long held dear and is in danger of throwing away needlessly?" Other views, included those of Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, who stated, "If I were the judge, I would sentence the young man to meet with aging Holocaust survivors and UK World War II war heroes to learn why the Nazi Seig 'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''should never be a laughing matter", but he also stated he did not believe the offence was deserving jail time. Meechan started a GoFundMe campaign on 24 April 2018 to raise £100,000 for an appeal and reached his goal as of 25 April. In August 2018, Meechan announced that his request for an appeal had been denied by a member of the Sheriff Appeal Court, who also accused Meechan's lawyer of contempt. The letter stated that the appeal was "not arguable" due to the nature of the "deeply unpleasant offence". Meechan stated that he planned to contest the matter with the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission. Meechan's lawyer

Dorothy Bain Dorothy Ruth Bain is a Scottish Faculty of Advocates, advocate who has served as Lord Advocate since 2021. She is the second woman to hold the office after Elish Angiolini, Lady Elish Angiolini KC. Bain previously served as the Crown Office and ...

subsequently petitioned the

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff C ...

to hear the case. Senior judge Lord Carloway opined that the High Court did not have the power to grant an appeal denied by the Sheriff Court. In March 2019, the £800 was seized from Meechan's bank account under an arrestment order. On 17 June 2020, Meechan announced that his additional appeal to the Supreme Court was also rejected. Meechan stated his intention to bring the case to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

planned to feature Meechan in a 2019 debate programme, ''The Collective,'' and had him film two episodes. However, the network announced that these episodes would not be aired after a backlash over the announcement.

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

produced a documentary on Meechan's case which aired in July 2019.

YouTube career

In 2018, Meechan launched the series "Absolute Mad Lads" on his main YouTube Channel in which talks about people throughout history whose insane lives and antics have earned them the title of "Absolute Mad Lads". These figures include General Butt Naked,

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...

, Mad Jack Churchill,

GG Allin Kevin Michael "GG" Allin (born Jesus Christ Allin; August 29, 1956 – June 28, 1993) was an American punk rock musician who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. His live performances often featured transgressive acts, i ...

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

, Ricardo López, Purple Aki, Richard "Beebo" Russell, and

Marvin Heemeyer Marvin John Heemeyer (October 28, 1951 – June 4, 2004) was an American automobile muffler repair shop owner who demolished numerous buildings with a modified bulldozer in Granby, Colorado, in June 2004. Heemeyer's machine was posthumously n ...

among others. Meechan's main channel (which also featured videos regarding his court case, issues surrounding

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

and during his earlier YouTube career, had comedy skits) has amassed a following of 1.1 million subscribers and over 174 million views while his second channel (which focuses more on politics), has over 340,000 subscribers and 41 million views.

Politics

Meechan identifies politically as a

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

. On 16 June 2018, Meechan announced that he had joined

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

along with fellow YouTubers

Carl Benjamin Carl Charles Benjamin (born September 1979), also known by his online pseudonym Sargon of Akkad, is a British right-wing YouTuber and political commentator. A former member of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP), he was one of its uns ...

and Paul Joseph Watson in what Watson describes as an attempted "

soft coup Soft may refer to: * Softness, or hardness, a property of physical materials Arts and entertainment * ''Soft!'', a novel by Rupert Thomson, 1988 * Soft (band), an American music group * ''Soft'' (album), by Dan Bodan, 2014 * ''Softs'' (album), ...

". In April 2019, Meechan said he intended to stand for MEP on behalf of UKIP in the upcoming

2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom The 2019 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2019 European Parliament election. It was held on Thursday 23 May 2019 and the results announced on Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2019, after all the other EU coun ...

. He was named fourth on UKIP's list in

, but was not elected after UKIP won only 1.8% of the vote in Scotland. In November 2019, Meechan posted a video announcing that he had left UKIP, citing internal disputes and backstabbing within the party over their leadership as his reason for leaving. Meechan stood in the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

as a candidate for the

Scottish Libertarian Party The Scottish Libertarian Party, also known as the Scottish Libertarians, is a political party in Scotland that advocates libertarianism. Its current leader is Tam Laird. History The party was first founded on 3 January 2012 under the leade ...

, finishing fifth in Motherwell and Wishaw with 254 votes. He was also first on the party's regional list for the Central Scotland region.

Personal life

Meechan married in 2019. His wife gave birth to their first daughter in 2021 and second in 2023. Meechan announced on 24 June 2024 that he and his wife were getting a divorce. According to Meechan, he converted to

Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

at some point in 2024.

Electoral history

2021 2019

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meechan, Mark Living people 1987 births British people convicted of hate crimes Events relating to freedom of expression Free speech activists Internet censorship in the United Kingdom Paleolibertarianism People from Coatbridge Politicians from North Lanarkshire Scottish libertarians Scottish male comedians Scottish stand-up comedians Scottish YouTubers UK Independence Party people