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 fuel 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 less than three hours before they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, including a charge that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun with a harmful weapon, a steel flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in jail, although sentencing guidelines probably will recommend a considerably shorter jail time period.

Webster, 56, testified that he was attempting to protect himself from a “rogue cop” who punched him in the face. He also 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 mentioned movies capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles were essential proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I assume we had been all stunned that he would even make that defense argument,” stated 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 also spoke on situation of anonymity, stated Webster’s self-defense claim “simply didn’t stack up.”

U.S. District Choose Amit Mehta is scheduled to sentence 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 additionally have been convicted of all charges in their respective indictments. A decide decided two different instances without a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the opposite.

Webster, who wore a mask in courtroom, confirmed no obvious reaction to the verdict.

“We’re disappointed,” protection legal professional James Monroe stated after the decision, “however we recognized from the start that folks here (in Washington, D.C.) had been fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I feel we saw a few of this expressed as we speak.”

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

Webster drove alone to Washington from his dwelling close to Goshen, New York, on the eve of the Jan. 6 “Cease the Steal” rally. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a U.S. Marine Corps flag on a metal pole when he approached the Capitol, after listening to Trump tackle 1000's 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 intrude with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral Faculty 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 motorcycle racks.

The physique camera video exhibits that Webster slammed one of many bike racks at Rathbun earlier than the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the best side of Webster’s face. Webster mentioned it felt as if he had been hit by a freight prepare.

“It was a hard hit, and all I needed to do was defend myself,” Webster mentioned.

Rathbun mentioned he was trying to maneuver Webster again from a safety perimeter that he and other officers had been struggling to keep up.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a metal flag pole at the officer in a downward chopping motion, putting a bike rack. Rathbun grabbed the broken pole from Webster, who charged on the officer, tackled him to the ground and grabbed his fuel mask.

Rathbun testified that he began choking as the chin strap on his fuel mask pressed towards his throat. Webster mentioned he grabbed Rathbun by the fuel mask because he wanted the officer to see his arms.

Rathbun reported a hand harm from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents brought on by Webster, however jurors saw 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 harmful weapon; civil dysfunction; coming into and remaining in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; partaking 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 security element. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 earlier than joining the NYPD in 1991.

More than 780 people 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 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 without a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who mentioned outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol via the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all prices, together with interfering with officers. One among them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The opposite, Texas resident Man 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 charges, 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 partaking in disorderly conduct.