Oath Keeper members texted in early January about providing security detail for Roger Stone at the Stop the Steal rally
- Two Oath Keepers being tried in connection with the Capitol riots were excited about providing security for Roger Stone.
- New court filings showed that Jessica Watkins said that it "sounds like a sweet gig."
- Watkins and Donovan Crowl are two of nine Oath Keepers federally charged in relation to the insurrection.
Jessica Watkins and Donovan Ray Crowl, two alleged Oath Keepers and Ohio Regular Militia members, looked forward to the opportunity to serve as private security detail for Roger Stone, a close ally to then-President Donald Trump, at the Stop the Steal rally, new court documents reveal.
The Stop the Steal rally, headlined by Trump, preceded the January 6 Capitol siege.
According to text messages shared in new court filings, the two texted each other in early January, discussing their assignment with the far-right militia.
"Looks like we might be security for Roger Stone, if we end up rolling with the Oath keepers," Jessica Watkins texted Crowl on January 1. Later, according to the documents, Crowl texted his romantic partner saying it "should be fun."
After Crowl and Watkins texted more, Watkins said, "I'm down to be security for Roger Stone. Seems like a sweet gig." Crowl agreed, according to documents.
Stone - a right-wing political strategist who was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after being found guilty of obstructing an FBI investigation and lying to Congress - was pictured surrounded by alleged Oath Keepers at the rally.
The text messages were released in a late bond motion filed by Crowl's lawyer, who missed a deadline to file the motion on Wednesday. Crowl's lawyer made the case that he should be released on bond by saying he was a carpenter, Marine Corps vet, single dad, and little league coach, who also has melanoma.
Other texts showed Crowl complaining about Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and saying he didn't want to deal with him.
Crowl's lawyer cited the complaints about "Stewie," arguing that Crowl was simply headed to DC to act as private security for Roger Stone.
However, prosecutors argue that texts revealed in previous filings appear to show a level of coordination between the alleged Oath Keepers.
In other messages prosecutors obtained from Watkins, she said that the Oath Keepers coordinated with "30-40" people that day during the insurrection, 10 of them alleged official members of the group.
Watkins and Crowl are part of a group of nine alleged Oath Keepers who have been federally charged in connection to January 6. According to prosecutors, during the insurrection, Watkins posted on Parler saying, 'We took on the Capitol! We overran the Capitol! We're in the f---ing Capitol!"
In February, a federal judge ruled that Watkins, who publicly denounced and disbanded from the Oath Keepers, must remain in jail until her trial.
Crowl and Watkins are both being held in Washington, DC, and are due next in court on April 6.
They are both facing charges of conspiracy, conspiracy to injure an officer, and destruction of government property. Stone, pictured only at the rally, has not been charged with anything in relation to the events of January 6.