Former NYPD officer Thomas Webster sentenced to 10 years in prison for January 6 attack on Capitol
A federal judge has sentenced former NYPD officer Thomas Webster to 10 years in prison for crimes committed on January 1. In January, officials were attacked outside the Capitol. 6 Rebellion.
It was the longest sentence for a defendant in a Justice Department criminal investigation in January. 6, but shorter than the 17.5 years prosecutors sought for Webster.
The Department of Justice previously released gruesome body camera footage of Webster, 56, attacking officers. In May, a jury found Webster guilty of six counts, including assault on a police officer, and he was found guilty in Washington state court.
Webster was found guilty of assaulting Washington Metropolitan Police Officer Noah Rathbun, who testified at the trial. Donning a bulletproof vest and waving a Marine Corps flag, Webster rushed into the crowd and shouted to Rathburn, “Get out!”
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The video shows Webster waving a metal flagpole while removing a bike rack that was being used as a police barricade. As Rathburn backed away, Webster grabbed him and removed his gas mask.
Rathbun testified that when Webster put on the mask, the chin strap began to strangle him.
The video shows Rasburn punching Webster as he tries to push him away. During the trial, Webster claimed that Rathburn had fought back and removed Rathburn’s mask in self-defense.
Webster was convicted of assault, resisting or obstructing a police officer with a dangerous weapon; civil unrest; entering and staying in a prohibited area with a dangerous weapon; physical violence with a dangerous weapon in a restricted area; and physical violence on Capitol grounds. At sentencing, Webster was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $2,060 in restitution.
Judge Amit Mehta opted for a level 4 enhancement because Webster was wearing body armor.
That alone extended his otherwise acceptable minimum sentence by 30 months. A native of rural Florida, New York, Webster served in the Marine Corps from 1985-1989 and as an NYPD officer from 1991-2011.
“As a former Navy SEAL and retired police officer, Thomas Webster could easily see the growing threat to law enforcement when he and other mobs attacked the Capitol on January 6,”
said U.S. Attorney Matthew Gray. Firth said in a statement Thursday. “He chose to escalate the situation and carry out the attack brutally. Webster’s attorneys say Webster’s years of service, “exceptional character,”
“impeccable conduct” as a uniformed police officer and “love and dedication to his country” are more than the Justice Department needs. Favorite simple phrases.
