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 declare 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 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, together with a cost that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun with a dangerous weapon, a metallic flagpole. The assault cost alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, although sentencing guidelines possible will recommend a significantly shorter jail term.

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 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 essential evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I assume we were all shocked that he would even make that defense 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 here in any respect.”

One other juror, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Webster’s self-defense claim “simply didn’t stack up.”

U.S. District Judge 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 were convicted of all expenses in their respective indictments. A decide decided two other cases and not using a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a mask in courtroom, confirmed no apparent response to the verdict.

“We’re upset,” defense attorney James Monroe stated after the verdict, “but we recognized from the beginning that folks right here (in Washington, D.C.) have been fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I think we saw a few of this expressed in the present day.”

Prosecutors requested for Webster to be detained, however the judge agreed to let him stay free till his sentencing. He’ll proceed to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The choose mentioned it was a “close call” whether or not to jail him instantly but famous that he has complied with current circumstances of launch 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 “Stop the Steal” rally. He was carrying 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 hundreds 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 intervene with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral School vote.

Rathbun’s physique camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults earlier than 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 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 aspect of Webster’s face. Webster stated it felt as though he had been hit by a freight prepare.

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

Rathbun stated he was making an attempt to move Webster back from a safety perimeter that he and other officers have been struggling to keep up.

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

Rathbun testified that he began choking as the chin strap on his gas mask pressed against his throat. Webster stated he grabbed Rathbun by the gasoline mask because he wished the officer to see his hands.

Rathbun reported a hand injury from a separate encounter with a rioter inside the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries caused by Webster, but jurors noticed pictures 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 harmful weapon; partaking 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 personal security detail. He served in 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 more than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding legislation 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 out a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who stated outnumbered cops 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 fees, including interfering with officers. One in all them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The other, 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 costs, 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 partaking in disorderly conduct.