Jessica Marie Watkins (born 1982 or 1983) is a transgender American militia founder and former

Oath Keeper Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of presidential power as prescribed by the United States con ...

leader, Army veteran and bar owner who took part in the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...

. She was convicted of multiple felonies relating to her participation and in May 2023 was sentenced to 8.5 years in federal prison. On January 20, 2025, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

commuted her sentence to "time served".

Early life and career

Watkins was raised in Ohio and upstate New York. She enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in 2001 following her high school graduation, completing a Ranger course and then serving in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

until 2003 when she left the military. She went

absent without leave Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...

from the Army when her

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

identity was revealed, moving to Alaska due to non-acceptance of her identity by her family. She later worked as a first responder in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

. By 2019, she was the co-owner of the Jolly Rogers Bar and Grill, a pirate-themed bar in

Woodstock, Ohio Woodstock is a village in Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The population was 287 at the 2020 census. History Woodstock was platted in 1834. Two members of the village were directly involved in the January 6 United States Capitol attack ...

with her fiancé. That year, she also set up the Ohio State Regular Militia for aid work after tornadoes cut off electricity to tens of thousands of residents. Business declined at the bar in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Following the

murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...

, she led her militia as self-appointed security guards during the resulting

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

in Ohio and Kentucky. On November 7, 2020, when

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

was declared winner of the

2020 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and vi ...

, she appeared on the front lawn of the

Ohio Statehouse The Ohio Statehouse is the List of state and territorial capitols in the United States, state capitol building and seat of government for the U.S. state of Ohio. The Greek Revival building is located on Capitol Square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, ...

with two other militia members, between two rival protest groups.

January 6 United States Capitol attack

In 2021, Watkins attended the January 6 Capitol attack with her militia, coordinating with the Oath Keepers of which she was also a leader, and wearing military armour and tactical military style clothing. At the U.S. Capitol building, members of the militia encouraged rioters to forcibly enter the building. In 2021, while facing criminal trial, she disavowed the Oath Keepers. Watkins went on trial with codefendants

Kelly Meggs Kelly Meggs (born January 15, 1969) is an American convicted felon who previously led the Oath Keepers' Florida chapter. He was found guilty of seditious conspiracy following his forced entry into the United States Capitol during the January 6 U ...

and

Stewart Rhodes Elmer Stewart Rhodes III (born 1966) is an American former attorney and founder of the Oath Keepers, an American far-right anti-government militia. In November 2022, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and evidence tampering related to his ...

. In 2022, Watkins was the only one of the three acquitted of

seditious conspiracy Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of Conspiracy (criminal), conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting ...

but was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and interfering with police. While in jail, she became a close friend of fellow Capitol rioter

Guy Reffitt Guy Wesley Reffitt is an American convicted felon who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. He was a member of the Three Percenters and was the first defendant to be convicted at trial for the attack. On August 1, 2 ...

through playing the card game '' Magic: The Gathering'', and became convinced of the false belief that the riot itself was "a setup" conducted by U.S. law enforcement. In May 2023, Watkins was sentenced by Judge

Amit Mehta Amit Priyavadan Mehta (born 1971) is an American lawyer who has served as United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia since 2014. In 2021, Mehta became a judge on the United States Foreign Intelli ...

to 8.5 years in prison, criticising her initial lack of remorse, but acknowledging a more recent apology. A cited justification for her long sentence compared to other rioters was her role in recruiting at least three other rioters. On January 20, 2025, President

commuted the sentence of Watkins to "time served". She was one of fourteen individuals to have their sentence commuted; all others convicted of crimes related to the January 6th attack were unconditionally pardoned.

Personal life

Watkins was born in under a different name, taking the name Jessica Marie Watkins in 2003 or 2004. Watkins is a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

and spoke at her trial about her struggle with her gender identity was a factor that led her towards paranoia, fear and

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

. She lived in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, and in

, before moving to Woodstock, Ohio.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Jessica Marie American transgender women Transgender military personnel American LGBTQ military personnel LGBTQ conservatism in the United States Living people Convicted participants in the January 6 United States Capitol attack Criminals from Ohio American female criminals 1980s births Members of the Oath Keepers Deserters United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Commutations granted by Donald Trump

Early life and career

January 6 United States Capitol attack

Personal life

See also

References