


WASHINGTON >> A former Ohio bar owner who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style stack formation with fellow members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group told jurors Wednesday that it was a “really stupid” decision, saying she got swept up in what seemed to be a “very American moment.”
In a decision that surprised even the judge, Jessica Watkins took the stand to testify in her defense as the high-stakes seditious conspiracy case against her, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and three others nears a close.
Watkins, an Army veteran who has been locked up since her arrest nearly two years ago, testified that she never intended to interfere with Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory and never heard any commands for her and other Oath Keepers to enter the building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Watkins recalled consuming a “steady diet” of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ “Infowars” show, which pushed the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. She called herself “just another idiot” in the mob on Jan. 6 and likened the scene outside the Capitol — where rioters smashed windows and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with police — to a Black Friday sale.
“Are you proud of what you did?” her attorney, Jonathan Crisp, asked.
“Not anymore,” Watkins replied.
Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, is the third defendant in the more than monthlong trial to take the witness stand — a move generally considered by defense lawyers as a last-resort option as it opens defendants up to intense cross-examination by prosecutors and often does more harm than good. Prosecutors will get a chance to question Watkins today.
Watkins took the stand in the seventh week of testimony in the case accusing Rhodes, Watkins and three others of a violent plot to stop the transfer of presidential power. Closing arguments could happen as early as this week.