{"id":49789,"date":"2026-08-20T11:41:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49789"},"modified":"2026-08-20T11:41:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:41:48","slug":"us-airman-arrested-at-capitol-after-calling-for-trumps-impeachment-is-detained-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/20\/us-airman-arrested-at-capitol-after-calling-for-trumps-impeachment-is-detained-again\/","title":{"rendered":"US airman arrested at Capitol after calling for Trump\u2019s impeachment is detained again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By<\/a>Kaanita Iyer<\/a>,<\/a>Francesca Giuliani Hoffman<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updated 17 hr ago (CNN.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US airman detained again after calling for Trump’s impeachment, his attorney speaks out<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video: https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/08\/19\/politics\/us-airman-arrested-at-capitol-trump-impeachment-detained<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jason Watson, the US service member who was arrested<\/a> on the steps of the US Capitol last month after calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, has been detained once again \u2014 <\/strong>just days after he criticized the president in an exclusive CNN interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Air Force major was \u201cordered into pretrial confinement\u201d Tuesday, a US Air Force spokesperson told CNN. As of Wednesday evening, he has not been formally charged, but the spokesperson said the case is still under investigation. Watson is currently being detained at a county facility in Maryland and is on a military hold, according to the public information officer for that detention center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is unclear what charges Watson might be facing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watson\u2019s attorney Chris Mutimer said the airman was arrested while on duty the day after his interview on CNN earlier in the week. Mutimer said Watson was refusing to wear his uniform.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile he was at work he, through counsel, informed his chain of command that he would no longer be wearing his uniform,\u201d Mutimer said. \u201cShortly after that, he was told he needed to put his uniform on. Within about 20 minutes, and my understanding is around 330, he was then arrested and he was brought to a county jail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mutimer said on CNN Wednesday evening they are \u201cexpecting charges related to Article 88, which is contempt towards an officer or Article 92, which is failure to obey, which would be related potentially to him not putting his uniform back on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe expected this,\u201d the attorney said. \u201cHe expected to be arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force spokesperson said in a statement, \u201cMilitary members are required to comply with the Uniform Code of Military Justice and all applicable regulations.\u201d The spokesperson added, \u201cBased on probable cause to support allegations of continued misconduct, Maj. Watson was ordered into pretrial confinement on Aug. 18, 2026. Maj. Watson is presumed innocent and will be afforded all rights under Rule for Courts-Martial 305 as his pretrial confinement is reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN has asked the Air Force for further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, Watson spoke with CNN\u2019s Erin Burnett<\/a> and criticized Trump, whose impeachment and removal he continues to call for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is happening with President Trump is not normal. He has failed us,\u201d Watson said. \u201cAnd not only is he a failure as president, he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption and is killing Americans. And that is unacceptable to me and it should be unacceptable to all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"watson<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Airman arrested after protesting Trump in uniform speaks out: Trump ‘has failed us’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public dissent within active-duty military ranks is rare as service members are required to follow orders in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which criminalizes contemptuous words against the president, vice president, Congress and other top officials under Article 88.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaj. Watson\u2019s personal statements do not reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Air Force,\u201d the agency spokesperson said in the statement Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watson was previously arrested on July 1 on the US Capitol steps after he gave a speech calling for the impeachment and removal of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Capitol Police told CNN at the time that members of the public are not allowed to demonstrate on the steps of the House unless they are accompanied by a member of Congress. Watson was \u201cescorted\u201d to the steps by a member, who then \u201cleft the area,\u201d according to police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watson was wearing his uniform during the demonstration. Military regulation bans wearing a uniform while participating in political activities, though to date Watson had not been charged with an infraction tied to the demonstration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watson told CNN earlier this week that he is willing to pay the price of speaking out against the administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe just have to be willing to accept that we can change what is happening in our country if we\u2019re just willing to pay a price for it,\u201d Watson said. \u201cSo all that I could do was ask myself what\u2019s the highest price that I\u2019m willing to pay. And this is what I ultimately came up with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story has been updated with additional details.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Davis Winkie and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ByKaanita Iyer,Francesca Giuliani Hoffman Updated 17 hr ago (CNN.com) US airman detained again after calling for Trump’s impeachment, his attorney speaks out Video: https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/08\/19\/politics\/us-airman-arrested-at-capitol-trump-impeachment-detained Jason Watson, the US service member who was arrested on the steps of the US Capitol last month after calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, has… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1879],"tags":[1992,2403],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49789"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49789"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49790,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49789\/revisions\/49790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}