U.S. Air Force Member Locked in Solitary Confinement 24 Hours a Day After Publicly Calling for Donald Trump's Impeachment
Maj. Jason Watson has been in solitary confinement for almost two months.
Oct. 12 2026, Updated 6:00 p.m. ET
An Air Force major held in pretrial confinement since August after publicly calling for President Trump's impeachment is being kept in solitary confinement 24 hours a day, his attorney said, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Attorney Christopher Mutimer told CNN on October 9 that Maj. Jason Watson remains isolated around the clock at a county facility in Maryland on a military hold.
Maj. Jason Watson Remains Isolated
Maj. Jason Watson has been in solitary confinement since August.
"Maj. Jason Watson is still in solitary confinement 24 hours a day," Mutimer said. "Even if he gets an hour to eat or to exercise, he's alone."
Mutimer added that Watson faces the possibility of losing his liberty, his military career and his benefits.
"He's 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."
Maj. Jason Watson Has Been in Pretrial Confinement Since August 18
Watson was arrested on July 1.
Watson was arrested on July 1 on the steps of the U.S. Capitol while demonstrating in uniform with a sign reading "Impeach. Convict. Remove." after speaking at a news conference.
On August 18, one day after he repeated criticisms in a CNN interview, the Air Force ordered him into pretrial confinement, citing "probable cause to support allegations of continued misconduct."
Prosecutors charged him under three articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including the rarely used Article 88, which bars officers from using "contemptuous words" against the president.
Additional specifications fall under Article 92 (failure to obey) and Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer). A hearing officer recommended that most charges proceed to a general court-martial, the military's most serious trial level.
No trial date has been set, and the Air Force has said Watson "is presumed innocent and will be afforded all rights" under rules that require confinement reviews and prohibit punitive conditions under Article 13.
Maj. Jason Watson Was Ready to Pay the Consequence
Watson understood the consequences before his actions.
Before his confinement, Watson told CNN that speaking out carried a cost he was prepared to accept.
"Nothing that is worth doing is something that you can do for free. Everything that is worthwhile is going to cost something," he said. "So, all that I could do was ask myself, what's the highest price that I'm willing to pay?"
Defense attorneys have argued that the case should be referred to a special court-martial rather than a general one and that criticism does not automatically equal contempt.
Article 88 Is Rare
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Article 88 is not common in modern history.
Article 88 has been charged sparingly in modern history and requires proof that the words were contemptuous rather than merely critical.
Mutimer has said Watson is believed to be among the first officers of his rank charged under the provision in recent decades. The case has drawn comparison to Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, who was court-martialed after publicly criticizing military leaders over the Afghanistan withdrawal; Scheller pleaded guilty to lesser charges and spent only nine days in pretrial confinement.
Watson's defense has noted the longer isolation in the current case while arguing that pretrial confinement cannot be used as punishment. The Air Force has not publicly detailed the conditions of his confinement or confirmed formal referral of the charges to trial.
