NYPD veteran convicted of assaulting officer in Capitol riot

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal jury on Monday convicted a New York Police Department veteran of assaulting an officer through 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 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, including a charge that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Division officer Noah Rathbun with a dangerous weapon, a metal flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines possible will suggest a considerably shorter prison time period.

Webster, 56, testified that he was making an attempt to protect 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 mentioned movies capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles were crucial proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we were all surprised that he would even make that defense argument,” stated a juror who spoke on condition of anonymity. “There was no dissention among us in any respect. We unanimously agreed that there was no self-defense argument here in any respect.”

One other juror, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, mentioned 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 were convicted of all prices in their respective indictments. A choose determined two different cases with no jury, acquitting one of many defendants and partially acquitting the opposite.

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

“We’re disappointed,” defense legal professional James Monroe said after the verdict, “but we recognized from the beginning that people here (in Washington, D.C.) had been fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we noticed a few of this expressed right this moment.”

Prosecutors requested for Webster to be detained, however the decide agreed to let him stay free till his sentencing. He’ll continue to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The judge said it was a “close call” whether to jail him immediately but noted that he has complied with present conditions of launch and doesn’t have any prior convictions.

Webster drove alone to Washington from his home 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 metal pole when he approached the Capitol, after listening to Trump address thousands 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 intervene with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College vote.

Rathbun’s body digicam captured Webster shouting profanities and insults before 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 motorcycle racks.

The body digicam video shows that Webster slammed one of the bike racks at Rathbun before the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the suitable aspect of Webster’s face. Webster stated it felt as though he had been hit by a freight train.

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

Rathbun stated he was attempting to maneuver Webster back from a safety perimeter that he and different officers were struggling to take care of.

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

Rathbun testified that he started choking as the chin strap on his gas mask pressed against his throat. Webster mentioned he grabbed Rathbun by the gas mask as a result of he wanted the officer to see his arms.

Rathbun reported a hand injury from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries brought on by Webster, however jurors noticed photos 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 dangerous weapon; civil disorder; entering 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 engaging 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 personal safety detail. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 earlier than becoming a member of the NYPD in 1991.

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

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all charges, including interfering with officers. One of them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The other, 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 costs, 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 participating in disorderly conduct.