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 throughout the U.S. Capitol riot, rejecting his claim that he was defending himself when he tackled the officer and grabbed his gas mask.

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

Jurors deliberated for less than three hours earlier than they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, including a cost that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun with a dangerous weapon, a metallic flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, although sentencing tips possible will suggest a significantly shorter jail time period.

Webster, 56, testified that he was trying to guard 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 combat 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 a number of angles have been essential evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we were all stunned that he would even make that protection argument,” mentioned 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 right here at all.”

One other juror, who additionally spoke on situation of anonymity, said 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 first three defendants to get a jury trial additionally had been convicted of all fees in their respective indictments. A choose determined two different circumstances and not using a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a masks in court, confirmed no obvious response to the decision.

“We’re disenchanted,” defense legal professional James Monroe mentioned after the decision, “but we recognized from the start that people here (in Washington, D.C.) had been quite 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 choose agreed to let him remain free until his sentencing. He’ll proceed to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The choose mentioned it was a “shut call” whether or not to jail him immediately but noted that he has complied with current situations of release and doesn’t have any prior convictions.

Webster drove alone to Washington from his house 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 metal pole when he approached the Capitol, after listening to Trump handle 1000's of supporters.

Webster said he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” at 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 Faculty 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 camera video exhibits that Webster slammed one of many bike racks at Rathbun before 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 practice.

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

Rathbun mentioned he was trying to maneuver Webster again from a security perimeter that he and different officers had been struggling to take care of.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a metal flag pole on the officer in a downward chopping movement, hanging a motorcycle rack. Rathbun grabbed the broken pole from Webster, who charged on the officer, tackled him to the bottom and grabbed his gasoline mask.

Rathbun testified that he started choking because the chin strap on his fuel mask pressed against his throat. Webster stated he grabbed Rathbun by the fuel mask as a result of he wished the officer to see his arms.

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 harmful weapon; civil disorder; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; and interesting 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 private security detail. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 before 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 legislation enforcement. More 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, said he was following orders from Trump. A judge 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 by means of the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all expenses, together with interfering with officers. One among 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 Choose Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee who acquitted Martin of all expenses, also presided over a bench trial for New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin. McFadden convicted Griffin of illegally getting into restricted Capitol grounds however acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct.