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 gas 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 present 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 dangerous weapon, a metal flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, although sentencing tips doubtless will recommend a significantly shorter jail term.

Webster, 56, testified that he was attempting 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 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 verdict said videos capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles had been essential evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I assume we had been all surprised that he would even make that protection argument,” mentioned a juror who spoke on condition of anonymity. “There was no dissention among us at all. We unanimously agreed that there was no self-defense argument here at all.”

Another juror, who additionally spoke on situation of anonymity, stated Webster’s self-defense claim “simply 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 first three defendants to get a jury trial additionally were convicted of all expenses in their respective indictments. A choose determined two different cases with out a jury, acquitting one of many defendants and partially acquitting the other.

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

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

Prosecutors requested for Webster to be detained, however the choose agreed to let him remain free till his sentencing. He’ll proceed to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The decide stated it was a “close call” whether to jail him immediately however 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 close to Goshen, New York, on the eve of the Jan. 6 “Stop 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 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 interfere with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College vote.

Rathbun’s body camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults earlier than they made any bodily contact. Webster stated 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 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 correct side of Webster’s face. Webster said it felt as if he had been hit by a freight practice.

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

Rathbun mentioned he was attempting to maneuver Webster again from a safety perimeter that he and different officers had been struggling to maintain.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a steel flag pole on the officer in a downward chopping movement, striking a motorcycle rack. Rathbun grabbed the broken pole from Webster, who charged on the officer, tackled him to the ground and grabbed his fuel masks.

Rathbun testified that he started choking because the chin strap on his fuel masks pressed against his throat. Webster said he grabbed Rathbun by the gas masks because he wanted the officer to see his arms.

Rathbun reported a hand damage from a separate encounter with a rioter inside the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries attributable to Webster, however jurors noticed pictures 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 disorder; getting 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 harmful 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 security element. He served in 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 Department says greater than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding law 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, said he was following orders from Trump. A judge listening to testimony with no jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who stated outnumbered law enforcement officials allowed him and others to enter the Capitol by way of the Rotunda doorways.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials earlier than jurors convicted them of all expenses, together with interfering with officers. One in all them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The opposite, 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 fees, also 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 partaking in disorderly conduct.