A leader of far-right group Oath Keepers who was charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot says she was in Washington DC on Jan. 6 to “provide security” at the pro-Trump rally and met with Secret Service agents, according to court records.
Jessica Watkins, 38, was given a “VIP pass” at the rally where President Donald Trump spoke before the siege, her lawyers wrote in a defense petition filed Saturday.
“Mrs. Watkins was not present as an insurrectionist, but to provide security for the speakers at the rally, to provide escort to lawmakers and others to march on the Capitol as directed by the then president, and to escort the protesters safely. outside the Capitol to its place. vehicles and cars at the conclusion of the protest, “the documentation states.
“They gave a VIP pass to the rally. He met with secret service agents. “
The Ohio native is one of nine people linked to the Oath Keepers accused of conspiring to storm the Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s election victory.
Prosecutors denounce members of the anti-government group coordinated as early as November to attack the Capitol.
The Afghan war veteran is also accused of forcibly entering the Capitol building during the siege, “with a row of individuals wearing Oath Keeper clothes, patches and insignia.”
But at Saturday’s presentation, his attorneys said he “did not exercise any violence or force on the Capitol or Capitol grounds.”
Watkins, who has been in custody since mid-January, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges.
She asks to be released in solitary confinement while awaiting trial, noting that she is at risk of being “severely treated” as a transgender woman.
A Secret Service representative said any claim the agency hired private citizens to make security on Jan. 6 “is false.”
With publishing cables