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

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 before they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, including a charge that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun with a harmful weapon, a metallic flagpole. The assault cost alone is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines seemingly will recommend a significantly shorter jail time period.

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 pick 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 movies capturing the officer’s assault from a number of angles were crucial proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we have been all stunned that he would even make that defense argument,” mentioned 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.”

Another juror, who additionally spoke on situation of anonymity, said Webster’s self-defense claim “just 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 additionally had been convicted of all costs in their respective indictments. A judge determined two other circumstances 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 reaction to the verdict.

“We’re disillusioned,” protection legal professional James Monroe stated after the verdict, “but we recognized from the start that people right here (in Washington, D.C.) were quite traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we saw a few of this expressed at the moment.”

Prosecutors asked for Webster to be detained, but the decide agreed to let him stay free until his sentencing. He’ll continue to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The decide mentioned it was a “close name” whether or not to jail him instantly but famous that he has complied with present situations of launch and doesn’t have any prior convictions.

Webster drove alone to Washington from his home 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 metal 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” at the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. But he testified that he didn’t intend to intrude with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral School vote.

Rathbun’s physique digital camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults earlier than 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 body camera video reveals that Webster slammed one of the bike racks at Rathbun earlier than the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the best facet 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 stated.

Rathbun mentioned he was trying to move Webster back from a safety perimeter that he and different 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 bike rack. Rathbun grabbed the damaged pole from Webster, who charged on the officer, tackled him to the bottom and grabbed his gasoline masks.

Rathbun testified that he began choking as the chin strap on his fuel masks pressed against his throat. Webster stated he grabbed Rathbun by the fuel mask because he needed the officer to see his arms.

Rathbun reported a hand injury from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries attributable to Webster, but jurors noticed images 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 dangerous weapon; civil disorder; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; participating in physical violence in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; and fascinating 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 non-public security element. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 before becoming a member of the NYPD in 1991.

More 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 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, mentioned he was following orders from Trump. A choose listening to testimony with out a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who said outnumbered law enforcement officials allowed him and others to enter the Capitol via the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials earlier than jurors convicted them of all costs, together with interfering with officers. Certainly one of 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 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 entering restricted Capitol grounds however acquitted him of participating in disorderly conduct.