Active-Duty Air Force Major Arrested on Capitol Steps After Calling for Trump's Impeachment

An active-duty U.S. Air Force officer was arrested on the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday after publicly calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, an extraordinary act of dissent from within the ranks of the military.

Maj. Jason Watson, wearing his uniform, was taken into custody by U.S. Capitol Police, who said he was demonstrating on the Capitol steps — an act that is illegal unless a demonstrator is accompanied by a member of Congress. Watson had initially been joined by Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, following an impeachment press conference organized by a grassroots group called the Removal Coalition. When Green left the area, officers warned Watson to stop or face arrest. He refused the orders and was charged under the District's statute for crowding, obstructing, and incommoding.

In remarks before he was handcuffed, Watson laid out what he called a series of impeachable offenses. He accused the president of violating the War Powers Act through military strikes against Iran and Venezuela that he said had killed and wounded U.S. service members without congressional authorization. He also charged Trump with sponsoring violence against Americans exercising their First Amendment rights and with denying due process to immigrants deported to a foreign prison notorious for human rights abuses. "The bill must come due," he said, according to accounts of the protest.

Watson is believed to be the first active-duty commissioned officer to publicly protest for the impeachment, conviction, and removal of both Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Military law sharply restricts the political activity of service members, particularly while in uniform, and legal experts said Watson almost certainly faces administrative or judicial action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice in addition to the civilian charge.

The episode instantly became a flashpoint. Supporters cast Watson as a conscience-driven whistleblower willing to sacrifice his career over what he sees as unconstitutional warmaking, while critics said an officer breaking the military's apolitical tradition on the Capitol steps sets a dangerous precedent. Both sides seized on video of the arrest, which circulated widely and showed Watson being led away in his service uniform.

The arrest comes at a moment of acute tension between the White House and parts of the national-security establishment, following the strikes on Iran and Venezuela that Watson cited. It also underscores how the impeachment debate — long confined to Congress and activist groups — has now reached inside an institution that prides itself on staying out of politics.

In plain terms: an Air Force major put on his uniform, stood on the Capitol steps, and demanded that Trump be impeached — then got arrested for it. He is the first serving officer to do so publicly, and he is now likely to face military punishment on top of the charge.