Former NY Cop and Ex-Marine Thomas Webster was found guilty today after just 3 hours of deliberation…
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Associated Press
A federal jury on Monday convicted a New York Police Department veteran of assaulting an officer during the U.S. Capitol riot, rejecting his claim that he was defending himself when he tackled the officer and grabbed his gas mask.
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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 charge alone is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, although sentencing guidelines likely will recommend a significantly shorter prison term.
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Two jurors who spoke to reporters after the verdict said videos capturing the officer’s assault from multiple angles were crucial evidence rebutting Webster’s self-defense argument.
“I guess we were all surprised that he would even make that defense argument,” said 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 here at all.”
WUSA9
Thomas Webster, a Marine Corps veteran and 20-year member of the NYC police department, showed little reaction as the jury foreperson read guilty verdicts on each of the six counts against him. They include five felony charges, the most serious of them being assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon. Another Capitol riot defendant who pleaded guilty to the same count, Robert Palmer, was sentenced in December to 63 months in prison.
Jurors heard four days of testimony last week and watched footage from multiple angles showing Webster attacking DC Police Officer Noah Rathbun on Jan. 6. Webster's attorney, James E. Monroe, argued the veteran police officer was defending himself from a "rogue cop" and that Rathbun bore responsibility for instigating the assault.
Jurors needed only two hours on Monday to reject that defense, however. After the verdict, one juror described the decision as "very easy and quick." Another said they didn't find Webster's self-defense theory compelling — particularly his argument that open-palm contact Rathbun's left hand made with Webster's face amounted to a "punch."
Outside of court Monday, jurors told the reporter the decision was "very quick and obvious" and that they didn't find Webster's self-defense theory compelling.
The FBI continues to seek the public’s assistance in identifying individuals who participated in unlawful conduct during the Capitol Insurrection. New images are added frequently...
If you have information about individuals who participated in the largest assault on police officers in U.S. history at the Capitol Riot on January 6th, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or leave a tip online at the FBI’s website.
If you just can’t get enough information about the terrorists who tried to usurp our democracy, then these links are for you…
Department of Justice Capitol Breach Cases
FBI US Capitol Violence Most Wanted
Insider Searchable Table
George Washington University Spreadsheet — Updated Daily
NPR — Updated Database
seditiontracker.com
ProPublica Capitol Riot videos lifted from Parler
KUMU — Capitol Riot Insurrectionist Networks
Just Security — January 6th Clearinghouse
The Trace — Capitol Riot Gun Arrests
USA Today January 6 Capitol Riot Arrests
Sedition Hunters - Sedition Insiders Photo Gallery
Politico January 6 Insurrection Sentencing Tracker