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 through the U.S. Capitol riot, rejecting his claim that he was defending himself when he tackled the officer and grabbed his gasoline masks.

Thomas Webster, a 20-year NYPD veteran, was the first Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault charge and the primary to present 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 cost that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Division officer Noah Rathbun with a dangerous weapon, a metal flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, although sentencing tips doubtless will suggest a considerably shorter jail term.

Webster, 56, testified that he was making an attempt to protect 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 decide a battle 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 were crucial proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we were all surprised that he would even make that protection argument,” stated 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 in any respect.”

Another juror, who also spoke on situation of anonymity, stated Webster’s self-defense declare “just didn’t stack up.”

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta is scheduled to sentence 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 additionally have been convicted of all expenses of their respective indictments. A judge decided two different instances and not using a jury, acquitting one of many defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a masks in court, showed no obvious response to the verdict.

“We’re disenchanted,” defense legal professional James Monroe said after the verdict, “however we recognized from the beginning that folks here (in Washington, D.C.) have been quite traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we saw some of this expressed at this time.”

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

Webster drove alone to Washington from his home near Goshen, New York, on the eve of the Jan. 6 “Cease the Steal” rally. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a U.S. Marine Corps flag on a steel pole when he approached the Capitol, after listening to Trump tackle thousands of supporters.

Webster stated 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 body digicam captured Webster shouting profanities and insults earlier than they made any bodily contact. Webster said 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 physique digital camera video exhibits that Webster slammed one of the bike racks at Rathbun before the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the precise side of Webster’s face. Webster said 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 mentioned.

Rathbun stated he was attempting to maneuver Webster again from a security perimeter that he and different officers had been struggling to keep up.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a metal flag pole at the officer in a downward chopping movement, hanging a motorcycle rack. Rathbun grabbed the broken 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 gasoline mask pressed towards his throat. Webster mentioned he grabbed Rathbun by the gasoline masks because he wished the officer to see his palms.

Rathbun reported a hand damage from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents caused by Webster, but jurors noticed photographs of leg bruises that Rathbun attributed to his confrontation with the retired officer.

Webster faced counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer using a harmful weapon; civil dysfunction; coming into and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; partaking in physical violence in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; and fascinating 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 non-public safety element. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 before becoming a member of the NYPD in 1991.

More 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 other 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, said he was following orders from Trump. A decide listening to testimony and not using a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who said outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol by the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials earlier than jurors convicted them of all charges, including interfering with officers. One of them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The other, Texas resident Guy Wesley Reffitt, also was convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun.

U.S. District Choose Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee who acquitted Martin of all costs, 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.