Air Force Major Charged Over Trump Impeachment Protest

Air Force Maj. Jason Watson was criminally charged Monday under the Uniform Code of Military Justice over his public calls to impeach President Donald Trump, according to a charging document his attorney shared with CNN.

Watson faces 10 counts: three violations of Article 88 for allegedly "contemptuous" remarks about Trump, five violations of Article 92 for allegedly disobeying orders, and two violations of Article 133 for alleged conduct unbecoming an officer.

The Article 88 counts stem from three appearances — a June interview with the Defenders of our Republic Substack newsletter, his July 1 protest in uniform on the steps of the US Capitol, and an August 17 CNN interview.

He is being held in pretrial confinement, one of his attorneys, Chris Mutimer, told CNN — an action analogous to a denial of bond in civilian court.

What He Said

"Not only is (Trump) a failure as president, he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption, and is killing Americans," Watson told Burnett. "And that is unacceptable to me."

At the Capitol in July, according to RedState, Watson argued that ordering military action against Cuba, Venezuela and Iran without an imminent threat to American interests was "an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress' authority, and a violation of the War Powers Clause." He said those actions "resulted in the deaths of 13 service members, and injuries of hundreds more," and concluded: "For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed."

The Charges

Under the UCMJ, it can be a violation to take part in overtly partisan activity while in uniform, or to use "contemptuous words" against the president and other high-ranking civilian officials. Many low-level offenses of these rules are handled informally; Watson's were unusually public.

The Article 92 counts allege he violated Defense Department regulations barring troops from speaking out in favor of partisan causes, "wrongfully" wore his uniform at a Capitol press conference, broke leave regulations by traveling to Washington, DC, and refused to wear his uniform to work the morning after his CNN interview. Prosecutors also allege the Capitol protest and the CNN interview amounted to conduct unbecoming an officer.