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Jesse Watson

Pardoned January 6 defendant

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Jesse Watson is a U.S. Army veteran from Lynnwood, Washington who, according to a sentencing memorandum filed in his federal case, served the country before he ever walked into the Capitol on January 6, 2021. DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, per a sentencing memorandum filed in federal court and cited by NPR's January 6 defendants database: Jesse Watson served in the U.S. Army and deployed to Iraq. FACT: According to court documents, Watson traveled to Washington, D.C. from the Seattle area with his roommate, and spent roughly 12 minutes inside the Capitol on January 6, filming on his phone and helping another person hang a flag on a pillar in the Capitol Crypt. FACT: He was arrested October 19, 2022 in Lynnwood. FACT: He pleaded guilty to Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds, Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds, Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building or Grounds, and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building, all misdemeanors. FACT: In August 2023 he was sentenced to three years of probation. No prison time. No felony. No violence charge. An Army veteran who deployed to Iraq, came home to Washington State, and years later spent twelve minutes inside a building he shouldn't have entered. The court that sentenced him gave him probation, not a cell. Jesse Watson built a life in Lynnwood, Washington after his military service, and this file is a misdemeanor record with a sentence already fully served. January 20, 2025: President Trump issued a sweeping clemency proclamation covering January 6 defendants nationwide. NEEDS AUTHENTICATION: whether Jesse Watson's case was directly affected by that proclamation is not confirmed in the sources reviewed for this profile. Case record: Case No. 1:22-mj-222, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Arrested October 19, 2022, Lynnwood, Washington. Charges: Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building or Grounds; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. Disposition: guilty plea, misdemeanors. Sentenced August 2023 to three years probation. An Iraq deployment on his record, twelve minutes inside a building on his record, and probation, already served. Read it all. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you, or your family, claiming it is free, forever.