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 claim 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 first to current 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 cost that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun with a harmful weapon, a metal flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, although sentencing pointers probably will advocate a significantly shorter prison term.

Webster, 56, testified that he was making an attempt to guard 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 decide 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 decision said videos capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles were crucial evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we were all stunned that he would even make that defense argument,” mentioned a juror who spoke on condition of anonymity. “There was no dissention amongst us at all. We unanimously agreed that there was no self-defense argument here at all.”

Another juror, who also spoke on situation of anonymity, said Webster’s self-defense declare “simply didn’t stack up.”

U.S. District Decide 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 also had been convicted of all costs in their respective indictments. A choose determined two other instances without a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a mask in court, showed no obvious reaction to the decision.

“We’re disappointed,” protection attorney James Monroe mentioned after the decision, “but we acknowledged from the beginning that folks here (in Washington, D.C.) were fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I think we noticed some of this expressed in the present day.”

Prosecutors requested for Webster to be detained, however the choose agreed to let him stay free till his sentencing. He’ll continue to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The decide mentioned it was a “close call” whether to jail him instantly but noted that he has complied with current conditions of release and doesn’t have any prior convictions.

Webster drove alone to Washington from his dwelling 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 steel 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 results of the 2020 presidential election. But he testified that he didn’t intend to interfere with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College vote.

Rathbun’s physique camera 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 motorbike 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 appropriate aspect of Webster’s face. Webster said it felt as if he had been hit by a freight practice.

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

Rathbun stated he was trying to maneuver Webster back from a safety perimeter that he and different officers were struggling to keep up.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a metal flag pole on the officer in a downward chopping motion, striking 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 gasoline mask pressed in opposition to his throat. Webster mentioned he grabbed Rathbun by the gas mask as a result of he needed the officer to see his palms.

Rathbun reported a hand injury from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries caused by Webster, however jurors noticed photos 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 harmful weapon; civil disorder; coming into and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; partaking in physical violence in restricted grounds with a dangerous 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 safety detail. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 earlier than joining 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. Greater than 100 officers have been 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 decide hearing testimony with no jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who said outnumbered cops allowed him and others to enter the Capitol by the Rotunda doorways.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all fees, together with interfering with officers. Considered one of them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The other, 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 prices, additionally presided over a bench trial for New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin. McFadden convicted Griffin of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of partaking in disorderly conduct.