NYPD veteran convicted of assaulting officer in Capitol riot

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal jury on Monday convicted a New York Police Department 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 fuel masks.

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

Jurors deliberated for less than three hours earlier than they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, together with a charge that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Division officer Noah Rathbun with a dangerous weapon, a metallic flagpole. The assault cost alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, though sentencing tips possible will advocate a significantly shorter jail time period.

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

Rathbun testified that he didn’t punch or choose 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 said movies capturing the officer’s assault from a number of angles had been essential proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we had been all shocked that he would even make that defense argument,” said a juror who spoke on condition of anonymity. “There was no dissention amongst us in any respect. We unanimously agreed that there was no self-defense argument here at all.”

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

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

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

Webster, who wore a mask in courtroom, confirmed no apparent reaction to the decision.

“We’re disappointed,” defense attorney James Monroe mentioned after the verdict, “however we recognized from the start that folks right here (in Washington, D.C.) had been quite traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I think we noticed a few of this expressed at present.”

Prosecutors asked for Webster to be detained, however the judge agreed to let him remain free until his sentencing. He’ll proceed to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The judge stated it was a “close call” whether or not to jail him immediately however noted that he has complied with current conditions of launch and doesn’t have any prior convictions.

Webster drove alone to Washington from his residence close to Goshen, New York, on the eve of the Jan. 6 “Stop 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 handle 1000's of supporters.

Webster said he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” at 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 Faculty vote.

Rathbun’s physique digital camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults earlier than they made any bodily 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 motorbike racks.

The body camera video shows that Webster slammed one of many bike racks at Rathbun earlier than the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the precise facet of Webster’s face. Webster stated it felt as though he had been hit by a freight prepare.

“It was a hard hit, and all I wished to do was defend myself,” Webster mentioned.

Rathbun stated he was trying to move Webster back from a security perimeter that he and different officers had been struggling to keep up.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a steel flag pole on the officer in a downward chopping movement, placing a bike rack. Rathbun grabbed the damaged pole from Webster, who charged on the officer, tackled him to the ground and grabbed his gas masks.

Rathbun testified that he began choking because the chin strap on his gas masks pressed in opposition to his throat. Webster stated he grabbed Rathbun by the gas mask as a result of he wanted 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 injuries brought on by Webster, however jurors saw pictures 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; getting into and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; engaging in physical violence in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; and engaging in an act of bodily 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 personal safety detail. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 earlier than joining the NYPD in 1991.

Greater than 780 individuals 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. More 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 judge listening to testimony with out a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who said outnumbered law enforcement officials allowed him and others to enter the Capitol via the Rotunda doorways.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials earlier than jurors convicted them of all expenses, including interfering with officers. One in all 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 prices, additionally presided over a bench trial for New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin. McFadden convicted Griffin of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of partaking in disorderly conduct.