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 masks.

Thomas Webster, a 20-year NYPD veteran, was the primary Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault charge and the primary 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, together with a charge that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Division officer Noah Rathbun with a dangerous weapon, a metallic flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines seemingly will recommend a significantly shorter jail term.

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

Rathbun testified that he didn’t punch or pick 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 videos capturing the officer’s assault from a number of angles were essential evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I guess we had been all surprised that he would even make that defense argument,” stated a juror who spoke on situation 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 condition of anonymity, mentioned Webster’s self-defense declare “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 first three defendants to get a jury trial additionally were convicted of all charges of their respective indictments. A decide decided two other cases and not using a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a masks in courtroom, showed no apparent reaction to the decision.

“We’re disillusioned,” protection lawyer James Monroe stated after the decision, “but we acknowledged from the beginning that folks right here (in Washington, D.C.) had been fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we saw some of this expressed in the present day.”

Prosecutors asked for Webster to be detained, however the decide agreed to let him stay free till his sentencing. He’ll proceed to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The decide said it was a “shut name” whether to jail him instantly however noted that he has complied with current circumstances of launch and doesn’t have any prior convictions.

Webster drove alone to Washington from his dwelling close to Goshen, New York, on the eve of the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally. He was carrying 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 stated he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” at the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. However he testified that he didn’t intend to intervene with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College vote.

Rathbun’s physique 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 physique digicam video shows that Webster slammed one of many bike racks at Rathbun before the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the correct side of Webster’s face. Webster mentioned it felt as though he had been hit by a freight practice.

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

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

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

Rathbun testified that he began choking because the chin strap on his gasoline mask pressed towards his throat. Webster stated he grabbed Rathbun by the fuel mask as a result of he wanted the officer to see his hands.

Rathbun reported a hand harm from a separate encounter with a rioter inside the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents attributable to Webster, but 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 utilizing a harmful weapon; civil disorder; coming into 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 dangerous weapon; and fascinating 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 personal security element. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 earlier than becoming a member of the NYPD in 1991.

Greater than 780 folks have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Department says more than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding legislation 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, said he was following orders from Trump. A decide hearing testimony and not using a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who mentioned outnumbered cops 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 expenses, 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 Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee who acquitted Martin of all fees, additionally presided over a bench trial for New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin. McFadden convicted Griffin of illegally getting into restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct.