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 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 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 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 dangerous weapon, a metal flagpole. The assault charge alone is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines probably will advocate a significantly shorter jail time period.

Webster, 56, testified that he was making an attempt to protect himself from a “rogue cop” who punched him within 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 mentioned videos capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles had been crucial evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I guess we had been all shocked that he would even make that defense argument,” stated 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 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 have been convicted of all costs 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 docket, confirmed no obvious reaction to the decision.

“We’re upset,” defense legal professional James Monroe stated after the verdict, “however we acknowledged from the beginning that folks right here (in Washington, D.C.) have been fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I feel we noticed a few of this expressed at the moment.”

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

Webster drove alone to Washington from his residence near Goshen, New York, on the eve of the Jan. 6 “Cease the Steal” rally. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a U.S. Marine Corps flag on a steel pole when he approached the Capitol, after listening to Trump address thousands of supporters.

Webster mentioned 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 body digicam 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 motorbike 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 suitable aspect of Webster’s face. Webster stated it felt as though he had been hit by a freight prepare.

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

Rathbun said he was making an attempt to move Webster again from a safety perimeter that he and different officers have been struggling to keep up.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a metal flag pole at the officer in a downward chopping movement, placing a bike rack. Rathbun grabbed the broken pole from Webster, who charged at the officer, tackled him to the bottom and grabbed his gas masks.

Rathbun testified that he began choking as the chin strap on his gasoline masks pressed towards his throat. Webster mentioned he grabbed Rathbun by the gasoline masks as a result of 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 attributable to 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 dysfunction; entering 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 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 non-public safety element. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 before joining the NYPD in 1991.

More 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 legislation enforcement. More than 100 officers had 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 judge hearing testimony without a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who mentioned outnumbered police officers 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 prices, 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, 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 coming into restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of partaking in disorderly conduct.