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 during the U.S. Capitol riot, rejecting his declare that he was defending himself when he tackled the officer and grabbed his fuel masks.

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 lower than three hours earlier than they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, together with a charge that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun with a harmful weapon, a metal flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, though sentencing pointers probably will recommend a significantly shorter prison term.

Webster, 56, testified that he was making an attempt to protect 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 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 videos capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles had been crucial evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I guess we had been all stunned that he would even make that protection argument,” stated 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 in any respect.”

Another juror, who also spoke on situation of anonymity, mentioned Webster’s self-defense claim “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 costs of 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 mask in court, confirmed no apparent response to the verdict.

“We’re disillusioned,” defense legal professional James Monroe said after the decision, “however we recognized from the beginning that folk here (in Washington, D.C.) were quite traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I think we noticed some of this expressed right this moment.”

Prosecutors asked for Webster to be detained, but the decide agreed to let him remain free until his sentencing. He’ll continue to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The decide stated it was a “shut name” whether or not to jail him instantly however noted that he has complied with current situations of launch and doesn’t have any prior convictions.

Webster drove alone to Washington from his house close to Goshen, New York, on the eve of the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally. He was carrying a bulletproof vest and carrying a U.S. Marine Corps flag on a steel pole when he approached the Capitol, after listening to Trump address 1000's of supporters.

Webster said he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” at the results of the 2020 presidential election. But he testified that he didn’t intend to interfere with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral Faculty vote.

Rathbun’s physique digicam 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 bike racks.

The physique camera 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 right facet of Webster’s face. Webster said it felt as though he had been hit by a freight prepare.

“It was a hard 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 have been struggling to maintain.

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

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

Rathbun reported a hand damage from a separate encounter with a rioter inside the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents attributable to Webster, but jurors noticed photographs of leg bruises that Rathbun attributed to his confrontation with the retired officer.

Webster faced counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer utilizing a dangerous weapon; civil disorder; coming 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 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 private security element. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 earlier than joining the NYPD in 1991.

More than 780 folks 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, mentioned he was following orders from Trump. A judge listening to testimony with no jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who mentioned outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol by way of the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before 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 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 prices, also 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 engaging in disorderly conduct.