William Watson biography: 13 things about US Capitol rioter from Auburn, Alabama

William Wright Watson is a white man from Alabama, United States. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He hails from Auburn, Lee County, Alabama. _(a)
2. On top of his right hand is a tattoo of a hammer and sickle, a symbol from the 2012 video game “Dishonored.” _(b)
3. On July 2, 2020, he was arrested and charged in Auburn for trafficking in marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. He was released on $103,000 bond. The terms of the bond prohibited him from leaving Alabama without asking permission from a court. _(c)(d)
4. On January 5, 2021, he traveled from Alabama to Washington, D.C., USA, which violated his bond. _(d)
5. On January 6, 2021, he was one of the Donald Trump supporters who breached the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. and disrupted a joint session of Congress to certify the vote of the Electoral College and affirm Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. During the riot, Manuel Balce Ceneta took a photo of him beside Jake Angeli and Nicholas Rodean and the photo went viral. Some netizens called him a communist infiltrator. He responded on Snapchat, “They wanna call me Antifa because I have a video game tattoo on my hand and I was pleading for peaceful discourse. Let em say what they will. The fake news won’t win against the thousands of patriots who recorded today. _(d)(e)(f)(g)
6. On January 7, 2021, he deactivated his Instagram account. Prior to this, he regularly posted conspiracies related to the 2020 U.S. presidential election and the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In an Instagram video he posted in 2020, he claimed to have a disability that exempted him from wearing a mask at Niffer’s Place Auburn, a restaurant in Auburn. _(b)
7. At around 1:45 p.m. on January 11, 2021, he was arrested without incident at a home along Samantha Court in Auburn for violating his bond conditions. Lee County district attorney Jessica Ventiere filed a motion to revoke his bond on prior drug charges, which was approved by a judge in Lee County. _(c)(h)
8. On January 15, 2021, he was interviewed by a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent. He told the agent that he had a can of mace and a pocket knife at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021. _(d)
9. On January 17, 2021, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui signed a criminal complaint filed against him for his participation in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. _(d)
10. On May 4, 2021, he was arrested in Alabama for his participation in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. _(a)(i)
11. On May 10, 2021, he made his initial court appearance. On August 6, 2021, he was indicted. _(i)
12. On November 18, 2022, he was found guilty after agreeing to a stipulated set of facts of obstruction of an official proceeding and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon. _(a)(i)
13. He was 25 years old when he was sentenced on March 10, 2023 to 36 months in prison for obstruction of an official proceeding and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton also ordered 36 months of supervised release. _(a)

If you have information about someone who participated in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit relevant photos and videos to the FBI.

_SOURCES:

• _{a. US Department of Justice}
• _{b. Alabama Political Reporter}
• _{c. Opelika-Auburn News}
• _{d. US Department of Justice}
• _{e. Alabama Media Group}
• _{f. Alabama News}
• _{g. Photo Blobstore}
• _{h. WRBL}
• _{i. US Department of Justice}