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 throughout 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 first Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault charge and the first to present 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, including 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 tips doubtless will suggest a significantly shorter jail time period.

Webster, 56, testified that he was attempting to protect himself from a “rogue cop” who punched him within the face. He also accused Rathbun of instigating the confrontation.

Rathbun testified that he didn’t punch or pick a fight 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 mentioned movies capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles had been essential evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we were all surprised that he would even make that defense argument,” stated 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 right here at all.”

Another juror, who additionally spoke on situation of anonymity, mentioned Webster’s self-defense declare “just didn’t stack up.”

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta is scheduled to condemn 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 also were convicted of all fees in their respective indictments. A decide decided two different cases and not using a jury, acquitting one of many defendants and partially acquitting the opposite.

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

“We’re disenchanted,” protection lawyer James Monroe mentioned after the verdict, “however we acknowledged from the beginning that people here (in Washington, D.C.) have been quite traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I feel we noticed some of this expressed immediately.”

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

Webster drove alone to Washington from his residence close to 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 thousands of supporters.

Webster said 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 interfere with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral School vote.

Rathbun’s body digital camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults before they made any bodily contact. Webster said 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 digicam video shows that Webster slammed one of many bike racks at Rathbun before the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the proper 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 mentioned.

Rathbun mentioned he was attempting to maneuver Webster back from a security perimeter that he and other officers were struggling to keep up.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a steel flag pole on the officer in a downward chopping movement, putting a motorbike rack. Rathbun grabbed the broken pole from Webster, who charged on the officer, tackled him to the ground and grabbed his gasoline masks.

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

Rathbun reported a hand damage from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries caused 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 using 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 dangerous weapon; partaking in physical violence in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; and engaging 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 becoming a member of the NYPD in 1991.

Greater 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 law enforcement. More 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 judge listening to testimony with out a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who said outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol via the Rotunda doorways.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all expenses, including 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, 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 coming into restricted Capitol grounds however acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct.