US Air Force Major Jason Watson walked up the steps of the Capitol building on July 1 in full military uniform, delivered a speech calling for President Trump's impeachment, and refused to move when Capitol Police told him to. He was arrested and charged under DC code 22-1307 for crowding, obstructing, and incommoding.
Rep. Al Green, the Texas Democrat who sponsored the event, watched the whole thing and called it justice.
"I just left the Capitol grounds, and I was there to witness a Major in the United States Military bend the arc of a memorial toward justice," Green said afterward. "He stood for impeachment of a president on the Capitol grounds, and thereafter, he walked up the steps, where he was arrested, and he was taken away."
Watson, who enlisted in 2005 and attended the US Air Force Academy, currently serves as a logistics readiness officer stationed in Poland. He was reportedly on leave. The press conference was organized by Rep. Green and an outfit called the Removal Coalition. Rep. Green just lost his primary and will not be returning to Congress after this November. Watson told the crowd that Trump represents "the greatest threat to our Democratic Republic" and declared, "For the past 18 months, we the people have allowed the highest levels of the executive branch of the federal government to violate our Constitution and their oath to it with impunity."
His proposed solution: "The President and Vice President must be impeached, convicted, and removed."
Capitol Police were straightforward about what happened. A spokesperson said Watson "refused our lawful orders and was then arrested." The statement added: "It is important to note that there are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds where demonstrating is allowed." He wasn't arrested for his views. He was arrested for refusing a lawful order in a restricted area — something the left spent years insisting was a very serious offense.
Then there's the UCMJ problem. Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits commissioned officers from using contemptuous words against the President, Vice President, and other senior officials. Watson, an active-duty major in uniform, stood on the Capitol steps and called for the President's removal. That's not a gray area. That's the textbook example the JAG manual was written for.
Green didn't mention Article 88. He didn't mention DC code 22-1307. He framed an active-duty officer breaking federal law as a man "bending the arc toward justice" — borrowing the language of the civil rights movement to dress up a publicity stunt.
We all remember the rules. January 6 defendants received years in prison for being in restricted areas of the Capitol. The legal theory was clear: the Capitol grounds have rules, those rules matter, and violating them carries consequences regardless of your political motivations. Hundreds of prosecutions were built on exactly that principle.
Watson broke the law on the Capitol steps, in uniform, on camera, at an event organized by a sitting congressman. A Capitol Police spokesperson confirmed he refused lawful orders. A Democratic representative publicly celebrated the arrest as heroic.
The law either applies on those steps or it doesn't. Apparently, it depends on the uniform.
