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 in the course of the U.S. Capitol riot, rejecting his claim that he was defending himself when he tackled the officer and grabbed his gasoline mask.

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

Jurors deliberated for lower than three hours earlier than they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, including a cost that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Division officer Noah Rathbun with a dangerous weapon, a steel flagpole. The assault cost alone is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, although sentencing pointers probably will suggest a considerably shorter jail time period.

Webster, 56, testified that he was trying to protect 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 choose 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 verdict mentioned movies capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles have been essential evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

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

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

U.S. District Choose 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 additionally have been convicted of all charges in their respective indictments. A choose determined two different instances with out a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the opposite.

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

“We’re disappointed,” protection lawyer James Monroe mentioned after the decision, “but we acknowledged from the start that folks here (in Washington, D.C.) were quite traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we noticed a few of this expressed in the present day.”

Prosecutors asked for Webster to be detained, but the decide agreed to let him remain free until his sentencing. He’ll continue to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The choose stated it was a “shut call” whether to jail him instantly however famous that he has complied with present circumstances of release 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 metallic 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” 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 digital camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults before 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 bike 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 proper 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 wanted to do was defend myself,” Webster said.

Rathbun said he was making an attempt to move Webster again from a safety perimeter that he and different officers had been struggling to take care of.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a metallic flag pole at the officer in a downward chopping movement, placing a motorcycle rack. Rathbun grabbed the damaged pole from Webster, who charged at the officer, tackled him to the bottom and grabbed his gas mask.

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

Rathbun reported a hand damage from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries caused by Webster, however jurors noticed images 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 dangerous weapon; civil disorder; entering 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 interesting 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 in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 before becoming a member of the NYPD in 1991.

Greater than 780 folks have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Department says greater than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding legislation enforcement. Greater than 100 officers have been 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 choose listening to testimony with no jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who mentioned outnumbered law enforcement officials allowed him and others to enter the Capitol by means of the Rotunda doorways.

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

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