Jessica Marie Watkins, a U.S. Army veteran and militia member facing charges for storming the U.S. Capitol, was ordered Friday to remain jailed while awaiting trial on counts including conspiracy.
U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled during a detention hearing to deny bond for Ms. Watkins, whom prosecutors have called a confirmed member of the Oath Keepers paramilitary organization.
Ms. Watkins has been in custody since Jan. 17, more than a week after mobs stormed the Capitol building as Congress met to count the electoral votes recognizing the results of the presidential race.
In charging documents filed in federal court, prosecutors included photographs showing Ms. Watkins in and around the Capitol among a group of several people all wearing camouflaged combat attire.
A federal grand jury later returned an indictment charging Ms. Watkins and two co-defendants — Thomas Edward Caldwell and Donovan Ray Crowl — on counts including conspiring to obstruct Congress.
Six others have since been indicted in the case. Prosecutors allege the nine co-defendants have confirmed or alleged ties to the Oath Keepers, “a large but loosely organized collection of militia.”
Ms. Watkins has been described by the U.S. Department of Justice in court filings as belonging to the Ohio State Regular Militia as well as being a “confirmed dues-paying member” of the Oath Keepers.
“The evidence remains irrefutable that the defendant recruited others to join, trained for, planned and participated in a coordinated effort to, as she put it, ’forc[e] entry into the Capitol Building’,” acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin, the top federal law enforcement officer in Washington, D.C., wrote in a court filing earlier this week seeking pretrial detention for Ms. Watkins.
A lawyer for Ms. Watkins had requested she be released on bond, citing her military service and other factors, among them her status as a transgender female and its likelihood of her receiving harsh treatment in custody. Weeks after her arrest, public defender A.J. Kramer previously said that Ms. Watkins was denied medical treatment while in custody and then was punished when she protested.
Judge Mehta, an Obama appointee, ultimately sided with the Justice Department and decided against granting bond to Ms. Watkins, according to the case docket. He also set a status hearing for March 12.
Prior to the detention hearing concluding, Ms. Watkins apologized to the court and said that she was canceling her Oath Keeper membership, CNN reported.
“I am sorry for any inconvenience I have caused the court. I am not a criminally minded person. I am humbled and I am humiliated that I am even here today,” Ms. Watkins said, according to CNN.
More than 300 people face charges related to the rioting at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Acting Deputy Attorney general John Carlin said Friday.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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