US Air Force officer faces jail for Trump administration protest - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Jason Watson calls for the impeachment and removal of US President Donald Trump. (NurPhoto: Allison Bailey)

These three words could send a serving US Air Force major to jail and see him lose his job, pension and entitlements.

So who is Major Jason Watson, what did he do and why did he put so much at risk?

On July 1, Major Watson spoke about Donald Trump's actions regarding Venezuela and Iran at a press conference at Capitol Hill.

He said when the US president "orders military action against foreign countries absent an emergency scenario where American interests are under imminent, dire threat," that it was unconstitutional, because it usurped Congress's authority and violated the War Powers Clause.

"These violations resulted in the deaths of 13 service members and injuries of hundreds more," he said.

"For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed."

Following his statement Major Watson climbed up the steps of the Capitol and held up a sign saying "Impeach, Convict, Remove".

Capitol police arrested him and, according to the Military Times, he was transferred to the Metropolitan Police Department and held overnight in jail until a court hearing the next day.

He was then taken into custody by Air Force investigators.

Laws governing US military service members place restrictions on their political activities, particularly while in uniform.

The US Air Force confirmed Major Watson had been charged, and said he would continue to be held in pre-trial confinement and be afforded the right to due process.

Major Watson has an Article 32 hearing scheduled for Friday, September 18, 2026 at a military installation in the Washington DC area, a preliminary proceeding to determine if there is enough evidence for a court martial.

Penalties could include reprimand, loss of privileges, reassignment, reduction in rank, forfeiture of pay, extra duties or restrictions, dishonourable discharge, confinement and loss of benefits.

Major Watson is a father of two young children and has served 17 years in the US Air Force. 

He became a logistics officer, has spent most of his career overseas and been awarded multiple service medals.

In Major Watson's blog, which he started last year under the pseudonym Just a Nobody, he said his "foray into activism started slowly" as he watched committee hearings into the events surrounding Trump supporters storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021, "in disgust and horror".

"By 21 January 2025 any illusion I had that our republic could endure another Trump presidency vanished," he wrote.

"Granting clemency for all of the 1,500+ rioters, hundreds of whom violently assaulted police, and especially the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, shattered my worst predictions.

After getting limited traction from his blog — most early posts had between five and 12 reactions — Major Watson turned to another form of peaceful protest.

He staged a 22-day hunger strike in July 2025 wearing an anonymising white costume and sitting in a chair in the Capitol grounds.

Jason Watson staged a 22-day hunger strike but failed to garner the support he wanted. (Supplied: Defenders of Our Republic)

That action also failed to garner much support, with Major Watson saying afterwards he "felt completely defeated and beyond jaded".

"It failed," he told podcaster Jessica Denson, founder of the Removal Coalition who helped Major Watson organise his protest.

Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut who was one of six Democratic lawmakers and former military personnel who appeared in a video in November calling on serving troops to uphold the constitution and defy illegal orders, gave a statement to USA Today in late August.

"Six months into a war Trump launched with no end in sight and with unprecedented corruption at the highest levels, one thing is clear: this administration doesn't want to be held accountable," he said.

High-profile journalist Maria Shriver posted her support on X, describing Major Watson's speech as "an American service member using his right to free speech, guaranteed in our nation's constitution" and encouraging people to watch his full statement.

"He has served and is serving. He is speaking up and out, and for that he was arrested."

While the Australian prime minister is not the commander-in-chief of the Australian Defence Force, Australian service people are bound by the Defence Force Discipline Act (DFDA).

Lawyer and former member of the Australian military police Cameron Niven told the ABC that if a sitting member of the ADF attended a political protest in uniform they could be in breach of Section 60 of the DFDA.

A notable exception is uniform attendance at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras which has had an ADF contingent since 2013.

Section 60 of the DFDA says that a "defence member commits an offence if the member does an act that is likely to prejudice the discipline of, or bring discredit on, the defence force".

"The defence force also has a number of policies which it has bound its members to, for example [its] social media policy, outside of the individual act of prejudicial conduct," Mr Niven said.

"So, for example, if the defence force can't show that the member has actually brought discredit upon the defence force, [as in] a lay observer does not consider that the commentary would reasonably result in discredit being brought upon the defence force, then the member could similarly be charged with failure to comply with a lawful command."

Breach of Section 60 of the DFDA carries a maximum penalty of three months imprisonment.