A leader of the far-right Oath Keepers group charged in connection with the US Capitol riot claims that she was in Washington DC on January 6 to provide ‘security’ during the protest for Trump and met according to the secret service agents court documents.
Jessica Watkins, 38, allegedly received a “VIP pass” for the protest where then-President Donald Trump spoke before the siege, her attorneys wrote in a defense petition filed Saturday.
‘Me. Watkins was not present as an insurgent, but to provide security for the speakers during the protest, to guide lawmakers and others to march to the Capitol according to the then president, and to guide protesters safely away from the Capitol. to their vehicles and cars at the end of the protest, ”reads the documentation.
“She received a VIP pass for the rally. She met with secret service agents. ”
The Ohio resident is one of nine people linked to the Oathsmen who are accused of storming a conspiracy around the Capitol, in an effort to prevent Congress from confirming President Biden’s victory in the election.
Prosecutors allege members of the anti-government group that was already coordinated in November to attack the Capitol.
The war veteran in Afghanistan is also accused of forcibly entering the Capitol building during the siege, “with a series of individuals wearing Oath Keeper clothing, spots and badges.”
But in Saturday’s submission, her attorneys allege that she “did not practice any violence or violence on the Capitol grounds or in the Capitol.”
Watkins, who has been detained since mid-January, has pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charges.
She asks to be released during interim trial and notes that she is in danger of ‘harsh treatment’ as a transgender woman.
A representative of the Secret Service said that any allegation that the agency employed private citizens on January 6 was ‘untrue’.
With Post threads