Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 23
- Location
- Auburn, Alabama
- Charges
- Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Destruction of Government Property; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Convicted; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
According to a criminal complaint, William Watson traveled to Washington, D.C., to "support the patriots, support Trump, support freedom. ... I guess the overriding thing for why we were there that day is because they were certifying the fraudulent election that day, and so we, to protest that." Watson said he was following a schedule that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones promoted for Jan. 6,2021, which, according to Watson, directed people to meet at the Ellipse at 9 a.m. and the U.S. Capitol at 1 p.m., around the time of the certification. In an interview with the FBI, Watson initially denied commiting any acts of violence, trespassing, vandalism or other “criminal activity." He then said he entered the Capitol building through a broken window and approached a police officer. "I went straight up to the first cop and literally got on my knees and was like, 'Listen, I want to be peaceful here ... I want to help you get these people peaceful so that we can have a conversation.' " Watson said he had a can of mace and a pocketknife on him at the time he breached the building. According to court documents, Watson was out on bond from a summer drug trafficking case and violated the conditions by participating in the Capitol breach. He was charged in July with possession of controlled substances and drug trafficking of LSD and marijuana, felonies under Alabama law.
Case History
Watson pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. He was found Guilty 11/18/2022 by the Court after agreeing to a stipulated set of facts on two charges: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced on 3/9/2023 to 36 Months of incarceration with credit for time served; 3 years of Supervised Release; 100 hours of community service; Special Assessment of $200; Restitution of $12,000. Watson received a full pardon on January 20, 2025
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.