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 fuel 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 charge that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Division 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 doubtless will suggest a significantly shorter prison term.

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 decision mentioned movies capturing the officer’s assault from a number of angles have been essential proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I assume we were all surprised that he would even make that protection argument,” mentioned a juror who spoke on condition of anonymity. “There was no dissention amongst us in any respect. We unanimously agreed that there was no self-defense argument right here at all.”

Another juror, who also spoke on situation of anonymity, said Webster’s self-defense claim “just 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 also have been convicted of all charges of their respective indictments. A judge decided two different cases without a jury, acquitting one of many defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a mask in court docket, showed no obvious reaction to the verdict.

“We’re upset,” defense attorney James Monroe mentioned after the verdict, “but we acknowledged from the beginning that folks right here (in Washington, D.C.) were quite traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I think we noticed some of this expressed right this moment.”

Prosecutors asked for Webster to be detained, however the decide agreed to let him stay free until his sentencing. He’ll continue to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The judge said it was a “shut name” whether to jail him immediately but famous that he has complied with current conditions 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 “Stop 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 deal with hundreds of supporters.

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

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

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

Rathbun said he was trying to maneuver Webster back from a security perimeter that he and different officers have been struggling to take care of.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a metal flag pole on the officer in a downward chopping movement, striking a motorbike rack. Rathbun grabbed the broken pole from Webster, who charged at the officer, tackled him to the bottom and grabbed his fuel mask.

Rathbun testified that he began choking because the chin strap on his gas masks pressed in opposition to his throat. Webster said he grabbed Rathbun by the fuel masks as a result of he needed the officer to see his palms.

Rathbun reported a hand damage from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents brought on by Webster, but 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 harmful weapon; civil disorder; coming into and remaining in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; participating in physical violence in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; and interesting 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 personal security element. He served in 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 Division says more than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding regulation enforcement. More than 100 officers have 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 judge listening to testimony and not using a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who stated outnumbered cops allowed him and others to enter the Capitol by means of the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials earlier than jurors convicted them of all fees, including interfering with officers. Certainly one of them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The other, Texas resident Guy 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 fees, additionally presided over a bench trial for New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin. McFadden convicted Griffin of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of participating in disorderly conduct.