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

Thomas Webster, a 20-year NYPD veteran, was the first Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault cost and the primary 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, 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 up to 20 years in jail, though sentencing pointers possible will suggest a considerably shorter jail term.

Webster, 56, testified that he was trying to guard 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 were essential proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I guess we were all surprised that he would even make that protection 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 in any respect.”

One other juror, who additionally spoke on condition of anonymity, stated Webster’s self-defense declare “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 were convicted of all prices of their respective indictments. A judge determined two different instances with no jury, acquitting one of many defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a masks in courtroom, confirmed no apparent response to the verdict.

“We’re disenchanted,” defense lawyer James Monroe said after the decision, “however we acknowledged from the start that folks here (in Washington, D.C.) had been quite traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I feel we noticed some of this expressed at this time.”

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

Webster drove alone to Washington from his home close to 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 address 1000's of supporters.

Webster said he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” on the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. However he testified that he didn’t intend to interfere with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College vote.

Rathbun’s physique digital camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults earlier than they made any bodily 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 body digital camera video exhibits that Webster slammed one of many bike racks at Rathbun earlier than the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the suitable facet of Webster’s face. Webster mentioned it felt as though he had been hit by a freight practice.

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

Rathbun mentioned he was attempting to move Webster again from a security perimeter that he and other officers were struggling to take care of.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a steel flag pole at the officer in a downward chopping motion, putting a bike rack. Rathbun grabbed the broken pole from Webster, who charged at the officer, tackled him to the bottom and grabbed his fuel masks.

Rathbun testified that he started choking as the chin strap on his fuel mask pressed towards his throat. Webster said he grabbed Rathbun by the gas mask as a result of he wanted the officer to see his arms.

Rathbun reported a hand harm from a separate encounter with a rioter inside the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents caused by Webster, however jurors noticed pictures of leg bruises that Rathbun attributed to his confrontation with the retired officer.

Webster confronted counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer utilizing a dangerous weapon; civil dysfunction; coming into and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; participating 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 safety element. 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. More 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, stated he was following orders from Trump. A decide listening to testimony without 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 earlier than jurors convicted them of all prices, together with interfering with officers. Considered one of 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 prices, 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 participating in disorderly conduct.