An Air Force major was arrested on the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday after calling for President Trump and Vice President Vance’s impeachments.
Peaceful demonstrations are permitted on Capitol grounds, but a protester must remain alongside a member of Congress to speak openly from the steps.
Originally, Air Force Maj. Jason Watson was accompanied by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who later left.
Upon the lawmaker’s exit, Watson was directed to come off the steps or face arrest, Capitol Police told The Hill. Watson was then arrested for crowding, obstructing and incommoding, the authorities noted in a statement.
“When the president of the United States orders military action against foreign countries — absent an emergency scenario where American interests are under imminent dire threats, as was done with Venezuela, Cuba and Iran — that’s an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’s authority and a violation of the War Powers Clause,” Watson told bystanders.
“These violations resulted in the deaths of 13 service members and injuries of hundreds more. For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted and removed,” he added.
The Air Force major went on to list grievances ranging from the Trump administration’s actions with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), mass deportation efforts led by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the killings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by immigration authorities.
“When the president of the United States sponsors violence on the American people engaged in their constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest, that’s a violation of our First Amendment rights. Pastors praying for DHS agents violently attacked without provocation,” Watson said, referring to events during the second Trump administration.