WASHINGTON—A member of the Oath Keepers unexpectedly took the stand in the seditious-conspiracy trial to testify in her own defense on Nov. 16, and apologized for entering the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“It was really stupid. I got swept up … I realize it was wrong,” said Jessica Watkins, an Oath Keeper from Hilliard, Ohio.
She described walking on the Capitol steps as a unique moment when there was no violence, everybody was in a good mood, and the crowd was chanting “Oath Keepers.”
“I felt really American,” she said.
Watkins told the court it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to enter the Capitol, comparing it to a Black Friday crowd with lots of people milling about….