ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Attorney Al Watkins joined St. Louis Talks on KMOX to defend his controversial comments against the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.
Watkins confirmed his quote given to Talking Points Memo, a political news and opinion website, in which he referred to those who broke into the Capitol bluntly as, "These are people with brain damage, they're f*****g retarded, they're on the god***n spectrum." He told KMOX, “…within one soundbite of employing that vulgarity, which I carefully, absolutely calibrated to be as offensive as I could be in one sentence … and within 24 hours this issue is front and center.”
"I have worked diligently to bring to the attention to the Department of Justice the mental nuances, the mental health nuances, the conditions of my various clients, in particular, the Shaman," said Watkins, who is defending the Jacob Chansley, also known as the "QAnon Shaman." He maintains his client did not lead the charge, was not part of the first wave, and was not entering with any weapons.
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"My client was not violent, my client had no weapons, had no gun. He did not assault anyone, he didn't steal anyone, he was not destructive." When asked if he could of made that case without using derogatory language, Watkins said that multiple aspects of representing his clients made it necessary as an "assessment of culpability" and how it's embraced.
"We are dealing with a hierarchy, up the chain of command, with people who don't have familiarity with the case, that are trying to lump all of the defendants under one moniker," he says. "We now have non-violent people with mental health issues, that nobody cares about, that are now being confined in solitary confinement, for 130 days, now 131 days."
Listen to the full interview with Watkins on St. Louis Talks in the audio at the top of this page.
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