NYPD veteran convicted of assaulting officer in Capitol riot

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal jury on Monday convicted a New York Police Department veteran of assaulting an officer through the U.S. Capitol riot, rejecting his declare that he was defending himself when he tackled the officer and grabbed his gas masks.

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 lower than three hours earlier than 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 dangerous weapon, a metal flagpole. The assault cost alone is punishable by up to 20 years in jail, although sentencing tips seemingly will advocate a considerably shorter prison 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 pick 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 movies capturing the officer’s assault from a number of angles were crucial proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we had been all stunned that he would even make that defense argument,” said a juror who spoke on situation 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 situation of anonymity, mentioned Webster’s self-defense claim “simply didn’t stack up.”

U.S. District Judge 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 also have been convicted of all prices in their respective indictments. A judge determined two different instances with no jury, acquitting one of the defendants and partially acquitting the opposite.

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

“We’re upset,” protection attorney James Monroe stated after the verdict, “however we recognized from the beginning that people right here (in Washington, D.C.) had been fairly traumatized by what transpired on Jan. 6. And I believe we saw some of this expressed as we speak.”

Prosecutors requested for Webster to be detained, but the judge agreed to let him stay free until his sentencing. He’ll proceed to be monitored with an ankle bracelet. The judge mentioned it was a “close name” whether or not to jail him immediately however famous that he has complied with current circumstances of launch 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 wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a U.S. Marine Corps flag on a metallic 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” at the results of the 2020 presidential election. But he testified that he didn’t intend to intervene 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 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 motorcycle racks.

The body digicam 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 right side of Webster’s face. Webster stated it felt as if he had been hit by a freight prepare.

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

Rathbun stated he was making an attempt to move Webster back from a security perimeter that he and other officers had been struggling to take care of.

After Rathbun struck his face, Webster swung a metal flag pole at 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 gas masks.

Rathbun testified that he began choking because the chin strap on his gas masks pressed against his throat. Webster said he grabbed Rathbun by the fuel mask because he wished the officer to see his arms.

Rathbun reported a hand harm from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any injuries brought on by Webster, however jurors saw photos 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 dangerous weapon; participating 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 personal security element. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 earlier than becoming a member of the NYPD in 1991.

Greater than 780 individuals have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Department says more than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. More than 100 officers were 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 choose hearing testimony with no jury acquitted Matthew Martin, a New Mexico man who said outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol through the Rotunda doors.

Two riot defendants didn’t testify at their trials before jurors convicted them of all charges, together with interfering with officers. One in all 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 Choose Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee who acquitted Martin of all charges, 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.