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 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 less than three hours before they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, including a cost that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Division 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 seemingly will recommend a significantly shorter jail time period.

Webster, 56, testified that he was attempting to guard 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 decide a combat 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 have been essential evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I guess we were all shocked that he would even make that protection argument,” stated 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 here at all.”

Another juror, who additionally spoke on condition of anonymity, stated Webster’s self-defense claim “simply 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 first three defendants to get a jury trial additionally have been convicted of all fees in their respective indictments. A judge decided two different circumstances with out a jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a masks in court docket, showed no apparent reaction to the verdict.

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

Prosecutors requested for Webster to be detained, however the judge agreed to let him remain 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 present 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 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 handle hundreds of supporters.

Webster said 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 interfere with Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral School vote.

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

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

Rathbun mentioned he was making an attempt to maneuver Webster back from a safety perimeter that he and other officers have been struggling to keep up.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a steel flag pole at the officer in a downward chopping motion, putting a motorcycle rack. Rathbun grabbed the damaged pole from Webster, who charged at the officer, tackled him to the bottom and grabbed his gasoline mask.

Rathbun testified that he began choking because the chin strap on his gasoline masks pressed in opposition to his throat. Webster said he grabbed Rathbun by the gasoline mask because he wished 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 injuries caused by Webster, however jurors noticed images of leg bruises that Rathbun attributed to his confrontation with the retired officer.

Webster faced counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer using a dangerous weapon; civil dysfunction; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; partaking in bodily violence in restricted grounds with a harmful 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 private security detail. He served within the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 earlier than becoming a member of the NYPD in 1991.

More than 780 folks have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Department says more than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding regulation enforcement. More than 100 officers were 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, said he was following orders from Trump. A decide listening to testimony with out a jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who stated outnumbered law enforcement officials allowed him and others to enter the Capitol by the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all fees, together with interfering with officers. One among them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The opposite, Texas resident Guy Wesley Reffitt, also was convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun.

U.S. District Choose Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee who acquitted Martin of all prices, also 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.