Major Jason Watson faces charges under rarely-used military law prohibiting criticism of the US president.
Published On 25 Aug 2026
The United States Air Force said it is seeking charges under the military justice system against Major Jason Watson for his public call for the impeachment and removal from office of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance over the US-Israel war on Iran.
“Major Watson acted knowing the risks to his career and his liberty,” Watson’s lawyer Christopher Mutimer said on Tuesday. “It is my hope that other Americans who feel powerless in this moment will take some measure of courage from his willingness to speak and to stand by his convictions.”
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Watson, an active-duty officer, was detained by police in his uniform in July on the steps of the US Capitol, where he had taken part in a protest holding a sign calling for Trump and Vance to be removed from office. The protest, which was also attended by US lawmakers, was organised by activists from the group Removal Coalition, which said at the time that Watson was the “first active duty officer in the military to call for Trump’s impeachment and removal from office”.
Watson appeared earlier this month on CNN, where he again called for the removal of Trump, who, as president, serves as the commander in chief of the military.
“What is happening with President Trump is not normal. He has failed us,” Watson said. “And 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.”
On Tuesday, Watson’s lawyer said in a statement that the airman would face charges under three articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including Article 88 – a rarely used provision which accuses him of using “contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress”.
The Air Force confirmed Watson had been charged and said he would continue to be held in pre-trial confinement and be afforded the right to due process.
