| |
Jessica
Marie
Watkins
(2nd
from
Left)
and
Donovan
Ray
Crowl
(Center),
both
from
Ohio,
march
down the
East
front
steps of
the U.S.
Capitol
with the
Oath
Keepers
militia
group
(Reuters
Photo)
|
|
|
Oath
Keeper
withdraws
claim
she met
with
Secret
Service
before
U.S.
Capitol
attack
Joseph
Ax
reuters.com
WASHINGTON
- A
leader
of the
far-right
group
Oath
Keepers
who is
charged
with
participating
in the
Jan. 6
riot at
the U.S.
Capitol
reversed
her
story on
Monday
about
having
met with
Secret
Service
agents
in
Washington
on the
day of
the
insurrection.
Jessica
Watkins,
38, had
said in
court
papers
over the
weekend
that she
had
traveled
to
Washington
to
provide
security
for the
march,
had
received
a VIP
pass to
then-President
Donald
Trump’s
rally
and had
met with
the
Secret
Service.
But
in a
filing
on
Monday,
Watkins’
attorney
said she
had
merely
spoken
with
some
agents
while
passing
through
a
security
checkpoint.
“Counsel
in no
way
meant to
imply
that Ms.
Watkins
met with
the
Secret
Service,”
A.J.
Kramer,
Watkins’
court-appointed
defense
lawyer,
wrote.
“A
better
verb
would
have
been
‘encountered.’”
Watkins,
an
Afghanistan
war
veteran
who has
pleaded
not
guilty,
is among
nine
associates
of the
anti-government
organization
charged
with
conspiring
to storm
the
Capitol
to
prevent
Congress
from
certifying
President
Joe
Biden’s
electoral
victory.
Federal
prosecutors
have
accused
Watkins
of
illegally
entering
the
Capitol
building.
Her
attorney
has said
she did
not
engage
in any
violence.
Prosecutors
have
said the
Oath
Keepers
began
planning
a
military-style
assault
as early
as
November.
More
than 200
people
have
been
charged
so far
in
connection
with the
attack,
which
left
five
people
dead,
including
a police
officer.
Trump
delivered
a fiery
speech
on Jan.
6
exhorting
supporters
to march
to the
Capitol
to “stop
the
steal.”
The
ensuing
assault
prompted
the
Democratic-controlled
House of
Representatives
to
impeach
Trump
for
inciting
an
insurrection.
The
Senate
acquitted
Trump
largely
along
party
lines,
though
seven
Republicans
voted to
convict.
Watkins
is
asking
the
court to
release
her to
home
confinement
while
she
awaits
trial,
citing
in part
the risk
of
maltreatment
she
faces in
jail as
a
transgender
woman.
Reporting
by
Joseph
Ax;
Editing
by Scott
Malone
and
Stephen
Coates
Advertise With Us:
Certified Minority Business Enterprise
|
| |
|
|
|
|
I
HI TECH NEWS
I
SPORTS
I
