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 first 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 lower 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 harmful weapon, a metal flagpole. The assault cost alone is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines possible will recommend a considerably shorter jail term.

Webster, 56, testified that he was making an attempt 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 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 stated videos capturing the officer’s assault from a number of angles were crucial evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I assume we were all shocked 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, said Webster’s self-defense declare “simply 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 have been convicted of all charges in their respective indictments. A decide determined two different cases without a jury, acquitting one of many defendants and partially acquitting the opposite.

Webster, who wore a mask in court docket, showed no apparent reaction to the verdict.

“We’re disenchanted,” defense attorney James Monroe stated after the verdict, “however we recognized from the beginning that folk right here (in Washington, D.C.) have been fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we saw some of this expressed today.”

Prosecutors asked for Webster to be detained, but the decide 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 name” whether or not to jail him immediately however famous that he has complied with current conditions of release 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 “Stop the Steal” rally. He was wearing 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 mentioned he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” on the results 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 body camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults before 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 body camera video reveals that Webster slammed one of the bike racks at Rathbun earlier than the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the best facet of Webster’s face. Webster mentioned it felt as if 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 mentioned he was trying to maneuver Webster back from a safety perimeter that he and other officers were struggling to maintain.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a metal flag pole at the officer in a downward chopping motion, striking a motorcycle rack. Rathbun grabbed the damaged pole from Webster, who charged at the officer, tackled him to the ground and grabbed his gas mask.

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

Rathbun reported a hand harm from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries brought on by Webster, but jurors saw images 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 harmful weapon; civil disorder; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; participating in physical 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 safety element. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 before joining the NYPD in 1991.

Greater than 780 people have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Department says more than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding regulation 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 hearing testimony with out a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who mentioned outnumbered police officers 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 fees, together with interfering with officers. One of them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The other, Texas resident Man 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 prices, 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 engaging in disorderly conduct.