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

Thomas Webster, a 20-year NYPD veteran, was the primary Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault cost and the first to current a jury with a self-defense argument.

Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, together with a cost that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Division officer Noah Rathbun with a harmful weapon, a steel flagpole. The assault cost alone is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, although sentencing guidelines possible will recommend a significantly shorter prison term.

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

“I assume we have been all shocked 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 right here in any respect.”

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

U.S. District Choose 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 additionally have been convicted of all charges of their respective indictments. A choose decided two other cases with out a jury, acquitting one of many defendants and partially acquitting the opposite.

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

“We’re dissatisfied,” defense legal professional James Monroe stated after the decision, “but we acknowledged from the start that people here (in Washington, D.C.) have been fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we saw a few of this expressed at this time.”

Prosecutors asked for Webster to be detained, however the choose agreed to let him remain free till his sentencing. He’ll proceed to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The decide stated it was a “close call” whether to jail him instantly however famous that he has complied with current 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 “Stop 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 mentioned he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” at 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 School vote.

Rathbun’s physique camera captured Webster shouting profanities and insults before they made any physical 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 reveals that Webster slammed one of many bike racks at Rathbun before the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the right side of Webster’s face. Webster mentioned it felt as if he had been hit by a freight prepare.

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

Rathbun said he was attempting to maneuver Webster again from a security perimeter that he and different officers have been struggling to maintain.

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 damaged pole from Webster, who charged at the officer, tackled him to the ground and grabbed his gasoline masks.

Rathbun testified that he began choking as the chin strap on his fuel mask pressed against his throat. Webster said he grabbed Rathbun by the gasoline mask as a result of he needed the officer to see his palms.

Rathbun reported a hand harm from a separate encounter with a rioter inside the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents attributable to Webster, however jurors saw 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 harmful weapon; civil dysfunction; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; engaging in bodily 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 private safety element. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 before joining the NYPD in 1991.

Greater than 780 individuals have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Department says greater 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, stated he was following orders from Trump. A decide listening to testimony with out a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who mentioned outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol by means of the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all charges, including interfering with officers. One in every of them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The opposite, Texas resident Man 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 fees, 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 partaking in disorderly conduct.