NYPD veteran convicted of assaulting officer in Capitol riot

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal jury on Monday convicted a New York Police Division veteran of assaulting an officer throughout the U.S. Capitol riot, rejecting his declare that he was defending himself when he tackled the officer and grabbed his gasoline mask.

Thomas Webster, a 20-year NYPD veteran, was the first Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault cost and the first to current a jury with a self-defense argument.

Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, together with a cost that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun with a harmful weapon, a metallic flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, although sentencing guidelines probably will recommend a significantly shorter prison term.

Webster, 56, testified that he was trying to guard himself from a “rogue cop” who punched him in the face. He also accused Rathbun of instigating the confrontation.

Rathbun testified that he didn’t punch or decide a fight with Webster as a violent mob attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, disrupting Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over then-President Donald Trump.

Two jurors who spoke to reporters after the decision mentioned videos capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles were crucial evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I guess we were all stunned that he would even make that defense argument,” stated a juror who spoke on situation of anonymity. “There was no dissention among us at all. We unanimously agreed that there was no self-defense argument right here at all.”

One other juror, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Webster’s self-defense claim “simply didn’t stack up.”

U.S. District Decide Amit Mehta is scheduled to condemn Webster on Sept. 2.

Webster’s jury trial was the fourth for a Capitol riot case. The first three defendants to get a jury trial also have been convicted of all fees in their respective indictments. A decide determined two different circumstances with out a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a masks in court docket, confirmed no obvious reaction to the verdict.

“We’re disenchanted,” defense attorney James Monroe stated after the decision, “but we recognized from the beginning that people here (in Washington, D.C.) were fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I think we saw some of this expressed at present.”

Prosecutors requested for Webster to be detained, but the decide agreed to let him stay free until his sentencing. He’ll continue to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The choose said it was a “shut call” whether to jail him instantly but famous that he has complied with current situations of launch and doesn’t have any prior convictions.

Webster drove alone to Washington from his dwelling near Goshen, New York, on the eve of the Jan. 6 “Cease the Steal” rally. He was sporting a bulletproof vest and carrying a U.S. Marine Corps flag on a metal pole when he approached the Capitol, after listening to Trump address 1000's of supporters.

Webster said he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” on the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. But he testified that he didn’t intend to interfere with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral School vote.

Rathbun’s physique digicam captured Webster shouting profanities and insults earlier than they made any physical contact. Webster mentioned he was attending his first political protest as a civilian and expressing his free speech rights when he yelled at officers behind a row of motorcycle racks.

The physique digital camera video reveals that Webster slammed one of the bike racks at Rathbun before the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the right facet of Webster’s face. Webster mentioned it felt as if he had been hit by a freight train.

“It was a tough hit, and all I needed to do was defend myself,” Webster stated.

Rathbun mentioned he was trying to maneuver Webster again from a safety perimeter that he and other officers had been struggling to keep up.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a steel flag pole at the officer in a downward chopping motion, hanging a motorcycle rack. Rathbun grabbed the broken pole from Webster, who charged at the officer, tackled him to the ground and grabbed his gas masks.

Rathbun testified that he began choking because the chin strap on his fuel masks pressed in opposition to his throat. Webster said he grabbed Rathbun by the fuel mask because he needed the officer to see his palms.

Rathbun reported a hand damage from a separate encounter with a rioter inside the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents caused by Webster, however jurors saw photos of leg bruises that Rathbun attributed to his confrontation with the retired officer.

Webster confronted counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer utilizing a dangerous weapon; civil disorder; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; participating in bodily violence in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; and engaging in an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.

Webster retired from the NYPD in 2011 after 20 years of service, which included a stint on then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s non-public safety detail. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 before joining the NYPD in 1991.

More than 780 folks have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Division says more than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding regulation enforcement. Greater than 100 officers were injured.

Two different defendants testified at their trials. Dustin Byron Thompson, an Ohio man who was convicted by a jury of obstructing Congress from certifying Biden’s presidential victory, mentioned he was following orders from Trump. A decide hearing testimony with out a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who stated outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol via the Rotunda doorways.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all costs, including interfering with officers. Certainly one of them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The other, Texas resident Man Wesley Reffitt, additionally was convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee who acquitted Martin of all costs, also presided over a bench trial for New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin. McFadden convicted Griffin of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds however acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct.