An Air Force military officer has been kept in solitary confinement 24 hours a day since August after calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment, according to his attorney.
Maj. Jason Watson was arrested outside the U.S. Capitol on July 1 after speaking at a news conference in uniform with a sign reading, “Impeach. Convict. Remove.”
“The president and vice president must be impeached, convicted and removed,” Watson said during the conference.
On Aug. 17, Watson was interviewed by CNN, where he explained why he felt he needed to speak up.
“Nothing that is worth doing is something that you can do for free,” Watson told CNN back in August. “Everything that is worthwhile is going to cost something. … All that I could do was ask myself what’s the highest price that I’m willing to pay.”
Watson added that Trump was a “failure as president he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption and is killing Americans.”
The following day, he was ordered into pretrial confinement. Because he is an officer, he can’t be held in a holding cell with civilians, his attorney said. However, months later, on Oct. 9, his attorney Christopher Mutimer told CNN that his client is “still in solitary confinement 24 hours a day.”
The decorated officer has served in the military for 17 years. Watson was charged under military law and faces a general court-martial, the military justice system’s highest level of trial, reserved for the most serious offenses. Mutimer called the charges “aggressive” on CNN.
“Maj Watson will continue to be held in pre-trial confinement,” a spokesperson for the Air Force told the Washington Examiner in August. “Airmen are afforded the right to due process, and considered innocent until proven guilty, in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice. ”
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The charges stem from Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 88, contempt toward officials; Article 92, dereliction of duty; and Article 133, conduct unbecoming an officer.
“He is looking at having his liberty potentially taken away, he is looking at being removed from the military, losing his benefits, and potentially spending significant time in jail,” attorney Mitimer told CNN. “He is still in solitary confinement 24 hours a day. Even if he gets an hour to eat, or exercise, he’s alone.”
No trial date has been set.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Mutimer for comment but has not heard back.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
