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 masks.

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

Jurors deliberated for lower than three hours before 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 steel flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, though sentencing pointers likely will advocate a significantly shorter prison time period.

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

Rathbun testified that he didn’t punch or choose a struggle 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 movies capturing the officer’s assault from a number of angles had been essential evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

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

One other juror, who additionally 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 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 also had been convicted of all fees in their respective indictments. A judge decided two other instances without 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 decision.

“We’re dissatisfied,” defense legal professional James Monroe mentioned after the decision, “however we acknowledged from the beginning that folk right here (in Washington, D.C.) were fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we saw some of this expressed as we speak.”

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 decide said it was a “close name” whether or not to jail him immediately but noted that he has complied with present circumstances of launch and doesn’t have any prior convictions.

Webster drove alone to Washington from his residence near Goshen, New York, on the eve of the Jan. 6 “Cease 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 deal with thousands of supporters.

Webster mentioned he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” on the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. However he testified that he didn’t intend to intrude with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral School vote.

Rathbun’s body digital camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults earlier than they made any physical 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 bike racks.

The body digicam video reveals 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 aspect of Webster’s face. Webster stated it felt as if he had been hit by a freight prepare.

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

Rathbun stated he was trying to maneuver Webster back from a safety perimeter that he and other 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 on the officer, tackled him to the bottom and grabbed his fuel mask.

Rathbun testified that he began choking because the chin strap on his gas masks pressed against his throat. Webster stated he grabbed Rathbun by the gasoline mask because he needed the officer to see his hands.

Rathbun reported a hand damage from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents brought on by Webster, but jurors saw 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 dysfunction; 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 harmful 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 individuals have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Division says greater than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding regulation enforcement. Greater than 100 officers had 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, stated he was following orders from Trump. A decide hearing testimony and not using a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who stated outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol via the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials earlier than jurors convicted them of all expenses, including interfering with officers. Considered one of 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 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 entering restricted Capitol grounds however acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct.