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 in the course of the U.S. Capitol riot, rejecting his claim that he was defending himself when he tackled the officer and grabbed his gasoline masks.

Thomas Webster, a 20-year NYPD veteran, was the first Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault charge and the primary 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 charge that he assaulted Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun with a dangerous weapon, a metal flagpole. The assault cost alone is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, although sentencing pointers probably will recommend a significantly shorter prison time period.

Webster, 56, testified that he was attempting 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 decide a struggle 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 videos capturing the officer’s assault from a number of angles had been essential proof rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.

“I suppose we had been all surprised that he would even make that defense argument,” mentioned a juror who spoke on situation of anonymity. “There was no dissention among us in any respect. We unanimously agreed that there was no self-defense argument here at all.”

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

U.S. District Decide 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 additionally were convicted of all prices in their respective indictments. A judge decided two different instances and not using a jury, acquitting one of many defendants and partially acquitting the other.

Webster, who wore a masks in courtroom, showed no apparent reaction to the decision.

“We’re disappointed,” protection legal professional James Monroe stated after the verdict, “however 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 saw a few of this expressed in the present day.”

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

Webster drove alone to Washington from his house 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 steel pole when he approached the Capitol, after listening to Trump deal with 1000's of supporters.

Webster mentioned he went to the Capitol to “petition” lawmakers to “relook” at the results of the 2020 presidential election. However he testified that he didn’t intend to intrude 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 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 body digital camera video exhibits that Webster slammed one of the bike racks at Rathbun before the officer reached out with an open left hand and struck the suitable side of Webster’s face. Webster mentioned it felt as if he had been hit by a freight train.

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

Rathbun said he was making an attempt to move Webster again from a security perimeter that he and different officers have been struggling to keep up.

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

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

Rathbun reported a hand harm from a separate encounter with a rioter contained in the Capitol. He didn’t report any accidents caused by Webster, but 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 utilizing a dangerous weapon; civil disorder; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds with a harmful weapon; partaking in physical violence in restricted grounds with a dangerous 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 private 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 people have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Division says greater than 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding regulation enforcement. Greater 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 judge 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 by way of the Rotunda doorways.

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