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 gas masks.

Thomas Webster, a 20-year NYPD veteran, was the primary 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 lower than three hours before they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, including a cost 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 advocate a significantly shorter jail term.

Webster, 56, testified that he was attempting 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 choose 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 videos capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles have been essential proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we had 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 here at all.”

One other juror, who additionally spoke on situation of anonymity, mentioned Webster’s self-defense declare “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 choose determined two different circumstances with out a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the opposite.

Webster, who wore a mask in court, showed no apparent response to the verdict.

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

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 judge mentioned it was a “shut call” whether or not to jail him instantly however noted that he has complied with present circumstances 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 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 deal with thousands of supporters.

Webster stated 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 intrude with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College vote.

Rathbun’s physique 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 digital 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 right aspect 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 wanted to do was defend myself,” Webster said.

Rathbun said he was trying to maneuver Webster back from a safety perimeter that he and other officers were struggling to maintain.

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

Rathbun testified that he started choking because the chin strap on his gas masks pressed in opposition to his throat. Webster mentioned he grabbed Rathbun by the gasoline mask because he wanted the officer to see his fingers.

Rathbun reported a hand damage from a separate encounter with a rioter inside the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries brought on by Webster, however jurors saw images 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; getting into and remaining in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; engaging in bodily violence in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; and engaging 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 security element. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 earlier than becoming a member of the NYPD in 1991.

Greater than 780 people have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Division says more than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Greater than 100 officers have 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 decide hearing testimony with no jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who stated outnumbered cops allowed him and others to enter the Capitol through the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials earlier than 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 costs, additionally presided over a bench trial for New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin. McFadden convicted Griffin of illegally coming into restricted Capitol grounds however acquitted him of partaking in disorderly conduct.