Air Force major arrested on Capitol steps during protest calling for Trump’s impeachment

A U.S. Air Force major was arrested Wednesday for protesting alone on the House steps while calling for the impeachment and immediate removal of President Donald Trump.

Maj. Jason Watson was arrested by Capitol Police officers around 1:15 p.m. local time for protesting on the House steps without a sitting member of Congress, Capitol Police told Military Times. Watson, an active-duty military man with a military career spanning more than 20 years, climbed halfway up the House steps to its chained railing to hold a sign reading “Impeach Convict Remove.”

Watson was first escorted to the bottom of the steps by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who then left the area, forcing officers to arrest Watson under 22-1307 Crowding, Obstruction and Discomfort.

“When the congressman left the area, our agents gave him a lawful order to stop the illegal protest or he would be arrested,” the spokesperson said. “The man refused our lawful orders.”

The spokesperson pointed out that there are other areas of the Capitol where protesting is permitted.

Watson stood stoically, dressed in his uniform, on the steps for about a minute before officers first approached him. A minute later, he was approached again by an officer, who spoke to him briefly and Watson nodded, video footage posted by Removal Coalition founder Jessica Denson, who organized the protest, shows.

More than a minute later, Watson was approached a third time. But this time, he put his sign down quietly and peacefully and was arrested by Capitol Police before being escorted off the steps by several officers as protesters chanted “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?” sounded clear.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Jason Watson stands on the House steps in protest, calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. (Screenshot from video footage)

Before the protest, Watson held a press conference alongside Greene, Denson, constitutional attorney Bruce Fein, Defenders of Our Republic and About Face Veterans, calling for the impeachment and removal of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Denson, who introduced Watson for his speech, said Watson was currently on leave from his position as a logistics readiness officer in Poland. She said he contacted the Removal Coalition in February and asked them to create this event for him so it wouldn’t be “in vain.”

“The question of whether his sacrifice, his risk of prosecution, his potential loss of the benefits of an entire group [over 20] “A career year in the military is worth it, if you apply the necessary pressure on Congress to impeach, convict and remove,” Denson said, appealing to the audience and other protesters.

Active-duty military personnel are strictly prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities, especially while in uniform, in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Those who do so face criminal or administrative sanctions, such as imprisonment, loss of wages, dishonorable dismissal, etc.

“Military personnel must comply with all laws, regulations and policies governing conduct and wear of uniform,” an Air Force spokesperson told Military Times. “As commanders verify inappropriate actions, they are responsible for taking necessary administrative and disciplinary actions to hold servicemembers accountable.”

The Air Force confirmed that Watson’s title is staff officer at the current duty station of Bydgoszcz, Poland. He entered active duty in late May 2009.

In his speech before taking the steps, Watson said he began basic cadet training at the U.S. Air Force Academy in late June 2005 when he first took the enlistment oath, calling it fundamental to the system of government and relevant to ensuring that all public officials owe allegiance to the Constitution rather than to a political party.

He said the greatest threat to the country’s democratic republic was not foreign but domestic. “We, the people,” played a role in putting the country into the “mess that we all find ourselves in,” he said.

“Over 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 oaths of office with impunity,” Watson said.

“When the President of the United States orders military action against foreign countries in the absence of an emergency scenario in which American interests are imminently and seriously threatened, as has been the case with Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran, it constitutes an unconstitutional usurpation of Congressional authority and a violation of the War Powers Clause,” he continued.

Watson said the violations left 13 service members dead and hundreds more injured, and for that, Trump and Vance should be impeached, convicted and removed from office.

The major also highlighted other “violations,” such as Elon Musk being allowed to shut down large parts of the federal government and gain access to government databases, as well as Trump ordering the Department of Homeland Security to deny due process before illegally detaining people and sending them to CECOT, a foreign prison in El Salvador known for human rights abuses.

In Watson’s view, Trump is “sponsoring violence” against the American people committed to their right to peacefully assemble and protest, as protected by the First Amendment, as the reason for the two men’s withdrawal.

Watson said he could list “countless more impeachable offenses,” including denying Congressional oversight of immigrant detention centers, suing media outlets, law firms and educational institutions, militarizing the Justice Department and trying to overturn the birthright.

Although Green did not speak at the conference, Watson addressed him, who called himself a non-Democrat. A spokesperson for Green declined to say whether the representative knew Watson would be arrested for not being escorted up the House steps.

Green was the only member of Congress to vote to impeach Trump during his second term. The resolution was defeated, with the House voting 237-140 to table the measure.

“I call on average Americans everywhere to exercise their First Amendment rights peacefully and en masse, every day, until this administration is removed and our democratic republic is restored,” Watson said.

“If no one like me can take a stand for our Constitution and our democratic republic, then you can too. I hope you will join me in defending our republic,” he concluded.

Capitol Police said he was not in custody.

A Spot fund created to raise donations for Watson’s defense had raised nearly $70,000 as of Thursday afternoon.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Watson is the first active duty military officer to publicly protest the impeachment, conviction and removal of Trump and Vance.

Cristina Stassis is a journalist who covers topics related to the defense industry, national security, military and veterans affairs and much more. She previously worked as an editor for Defense News in 2024, where she helped the newsroom deliver the latest news from Sightline Media Group.

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