Air Force Major Jason Watson—who was arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building last month while calling for President Trump’s impeachment—has been arrested again.
Watson was detained on Tuesday, just one day after an exclusive CNN interview in which he said the president was “violating the Constitution, breaking the law, [and] engaged in rampant corruption.” Watson is currently in pretrial confinement in Maryland based on “allegations of continued misconduct” according to the Air Force. It did not identify the specific misconduct allegations, although his attorney believes that his recent CNN appearance is to blame.
“What is happening with President Trump is not normal. He has failed us,” Watson told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday. “And not only is he a failure as president, he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption, and is killing Americans. And that is unacceptable to me and it should be unacceptable to all of us.”
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47 Comments
halcyoncmdr@piefed.social · 97 pts · 13d
Just a reminder that the enlisted and officer oaths are different, and could be a factor here. Notably that officers do not swear an oath to follow the orders of the President like the enlisted do.
A Major would be an Officer (O-4).
Murse@slrpnk.net · 70 pts · 13d
Enlisted are still oath-bound to engage Trump the same way they do any other enemy of the US.
They are also obligated to follow his orders, but only if those orders are legal. While fucking bonkers that the same oath requires them to do both, it isn't actually a conflict: they can still follow legal orders while taking measures to depose him. Hell, they can even follow those legal orders posthumously. But that doesn't free them from their duty to defend us against domestic enemies like Trump. Their inaction thus far is a violation of their oath and dereliction of their duty.
bytejunk@piefed.social · 4 pts · 11d
Correct reading as to "legal orders": the oath itself, while binding to the president's orders, does not make it unconditional: it explicitly subjects that binding to a limit: "according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice".
This means that enlisted personnel have the right, and in fact, the obligation, to refuse following unlawful orders.
feannag@sh.itjust.works · 14 pts · 12d
Unfortunately, Article 133 can do a lot of heavy lifting.
2piradians@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 12d
Yeah I remember officers having their careers ended for criticizing Bush. Word was that troops were prohibited from that type of activity, officers especially so.
SooperGoose@thelemmy.club · 4 pts · 11d
Even an enlisted person has the right and duty to disobey unlawful orders.
BlonksClown@lemmy.world · 46 pts · 13d
You can tell he's actively shitting his pants in the thumbnail
skeezix@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 13d
That’s the look he gets when the turd is crowning.
Almacca@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 12d
...please trip, please trip, please trip...
M137@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 11d
I thank you for pointing that out. I can't stand looking at images of him for more than a very quick glance at most. Your comment made me look a tiny bit longer, jist enough to see what you've mentioned but not a nanosecond longer, and while that tiny bit longer was horrible it was also nice because you're probably right. Thinking of how much it must hurt his ego to be forced to do that without any control of when and where, which means it's sometimes in situations like this where everyone can see it.
DevDave@piefed.social · 40 pts · 12d
Only one out of 350k-380k commissioned officers is actually keeping their word and defending the constitution.
I wonder which of our allies we're going to start bombing first?
mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca · 15 pts · 12d
define "allies" lol
does the US have any of those?
DevDave@piefed.social · 6 pts · 12d
Fine, "I wonder which of our more reliable victims we're going to start bombing first?"
I don't think enough people inside of and outside the USA truly comprehend how bad things actually are already and where they're heading towards.
impairedimperator@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 12d
My money is on Mexico, and probably before the midterms. It'll be sold as "unilateral anti cartel action"
Canada in 2028.
DevDave@piefed.social · 1 pts · 11d
Ah yeah, I can definitely see Mexico. Do they have any form of anti-air weaponry?
chromeleon@lemmy.world · 39 pts · 13d
Vote for your favorite punctuation:
Witchfire@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 12d
Leslie Knope is that you?
abysmalpoptart@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 12d
This is the first thing i usually think of
https://youtu.be/5yuL6PcgSgM
osanna@lemmy.vg · 30 pts · 13d
Land Of The Free(TM)
Murse@slrpnk.net · 17 pts · 13d
Fee*
Common misunderstanding.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 12d
Yep. And the home of the depraved*
Murse@slrpnk.net · 4 pts · 12d
*sheds a single tear*
...
*gets arrested for crying on public property without a permit, charged with bioterrorism for assaulting an officer with a biohazardous tear*
TrickDacy@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 12d
Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have ever been hopeful or proud of this country because of its past, but I used to feel like it was getting better and I was hopeful. All gone now... Hoping to get it back some day but not holding my breath.
Murse@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 12d
Same boat. It really looked like we were making progress one baby step at a time. Then we threw it in the trash practically overnight.
One step forward, full sprint until total muscle failure back.
I'll admit this wave of democratic socialists finding success does have me coming out of that shell a bit, but god damnit I should know better...
TrickDacy@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 12d
Yeah, exactly, to all this... Nothing more to add
anarchy79@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 12d
This temu fucking dictatorship I swear to god they're too incompetent to even do fascism right.
matlag@sh.itjust.works · 14 pts · 12d
Anyone can get a comment from Musk about total freedom speech or some shit? It looks like they're best pals with Trump again.
ElDuderino@lemmus.org · 6 pts · 12d
Sorry bro. Free speech only applies to racism.
ElDuderino@lemmus.org · 12 pts · 12d
Land of the free. Home of the slave
Folstar@lemmus.org · 8 pts · 11d
That's what you get for speaking truth in the Kingdom of Lies.
Danarchy@lemmy.nz · 2 pts · 12d
hits bong US has an Air Man? What’s his power?
No shit, FLIGHT?!
JasonDJ@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 12d
You should hear what they call members of the navy.
DevDave@piefed.social · 5 pts · 12d
When I was really bored (everyday that ends with a y) when I was in service, I'd do random searches of the DOD email directory.
There were more than one person with the last name of Puddle in the US Navy during the 00's. I often wonder what their recruiters were thinking and if everyone was screaming at each other "Don't fucking tell them their title, not yet!"
Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 12d
Merfolk
tektite@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 11d
Beans?
lechekaflan@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 11d
Any more of that fat bastard, chances of mutiny will grow higher, not just one any individual.
Buffalox@lemmy.world · -4 pts · 12d
Americans don't have the president they want, but they have the president they deserve.
Except of course people like this guy, who has actually tried to do something, but apparently nobody or too few are backing him up to make a difference.
ahkian@thelemmy.club · 11 pts · 12d
No one deserves Donald Trump except the people voted for him.
Buffalox@lemmy.world · -6 pts · 12d
Yes well that's the thing with democracy, it kind of goes for all people whatever the election result may be.
So Americans seen as a group deserve it, even if the individuals that tried to prevent it don't.
So USA as a society and a people deserve to get what they voted for, because in a democracy it is the result of what the people decided. And especially since it was so fucking obvious what it was they voted for.
girthero@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 12d
Disenfranchised voters would like to have a word!
anon_8675309@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 12d
Where you at?
Buffalox@lemmy.world · -6 pts · 12d
Why? So you can dig up some whataboutism?
anon_8675309@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 12d
Because I want to know that there is some wonderful place out there with no issues at all.
Buffalox@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 11d
Straw man.
anon_8675309@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 11d
Until your own house is clean…
Buffalox@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 11d
You know it's hard to keep it clean when your garbage keeps spilling over.
FinalRemix@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 11d
Ad hominem.
See? We can all throw terms out to discredit each other instead of engaging.