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 masks.

Thomas Webster, a 20-year NYPD veteran, was the first Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault cost and the first to current 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, 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 up to 20 years in prison, although sentencing pointers probably will recommend a significantly shorter prison time period.

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

“I assume we have been all surprised that he would even make that protection argument,” said 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 right here at all.”

Another juror, who also spoke on situation of anonymity, stated Webster’s self-defense claim “simply didn’t stack up.”

U.S. District Decide 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 have been convicted of all prices in their respective indictments. A choose determined two different instances and not using a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the opposite.

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

“We’re disenchanted,” defense legal professional James Monroe said after the decision, “but we recognized from the beginning that people here (in Washington, D.C.) had been quite traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we saw a few of this expressed at this time.”

Prosecutors requested 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 choose mentioned it was a “close call” whether to jail him instantly but noted that he has complied with current situations of launch 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 “Cease the Steal” rally. He was carrying 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” at the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. But he testified that he didn’t intend to interfere with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral School vote.

Rathbun’s body digicam captured Webster shouting profanities and insults before they made any physical 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 camera video shows that Webster slammed one of the bike racks at Rathbun earlier than the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the appropriate 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 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 motion, placing a bike rack. Rathbun grabbed the damaged pole from Webster, who charged at the officer, tackled him to the ground and grabbed his gasoline mask.

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

Rathbun reported a hand injury from a separate encounter with a rioter inside the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries brought on by Webster, however jurors noticed pictures 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 dysfunction; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; partaking in physical violence in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; and fascinating 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 safety detail. 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 more than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding regulation enforcement. More than 100 officers have been 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 hearing testimony with no jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who stated outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol by means of the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all charges, 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, also was convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee who acquitted Martin of all expenses, 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 partaking in disorderly conduct.