Capitol arrests: ‘I do not believe the charges of conspiracy are...fair,’ boyfriend of suspect says

WOODSTOCK — Two Champaign County residents remain in the Montgomery County Jail after they were accused of entering the U.S. Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, according to federal court records.

Jessica Watkins, 38, and Donovan Crowl, 50, were arrested by the FBI last week and are charged with conspiracy, destruction of government property and other charges.

>>RELATED: 2 Champaign County residents conspired ‘to forcibly storm the U.S. Capitol,’ FBI says

Watkins’ boyfriend told CNN Watkins “is not a violent person.”

Montana Siniff runs the bar in town with Watkins. He was home when the FBI raided their apartment above the bar last week. He said he was questioned and then released by the FBI.

Siniff said Watkins was “supposed to help...protect some VIP members within the Trump rally. And then of course the Trump said that, uh, go protest and uh, some people took that to mean more than they should have probably.”

“If she is found guilty of anything then she will have to take the consequences of that,” Siniff said.

Siniff said he also knew Crowl from the bar.

“When drunk, he’s the guy you want to shut up. When sober, the best man you could have,” Siniff said. “That’s how I got that barometer. And the militia was a good thing to help him be like it was a reason to be sober.”

As for the charges against both Watkins and Crowl, Siniff said, “I do not believe the charges of conspiracy are at all fair.”

Watkins and Crowl turned themselves into the Urbana Police Divison the night after the FBI raided Watkins’ apartment. Video obtained by News Center 7 shows them walking across a dark parking lot into the police department, where officers escorted them to separate interview rooms.

A search warrant served at Watkins’ home in Woodstock last Sunday uncovered several items.

“One record that agents recovered appears to be directions for making explosives, authored by “The Jolly Roger,” an FBI agent wrote in court records. “I know that Watkins operates a bar known as the Jolly Roger, and is believed to operate a Facebook account under that same user name.”

Agents also found “protective and battle gear of the sort worn during the offenses of January 6, 2021.”

Another search warrant served Sunday at the location where Crowl was said to have occasionally stayed. FBI agents said law enforcement recovered a green reinforced vest with the name “Trapper” affixed to it. That is the “label visible on video and in photos that captured Crowl during the incursion of the Capitol,” records read.

Cox Media Group