Thomas Webster, a 20-year New York Police Department veteran, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in the riots that took place at the United States Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Approximately 10,000 people stormed the Capitol grounds, at least 2,000 of them making it inside. Many engaged in violent actions with the officers trying to protect the building and the lawmakers inside. Webster was one of those people.
Webster’s image became synonymous with being the rioter who pinned a D.C. officer to the ground with a flag pole.
More than 225 accused rioters were charged with assault, resisting or impeding officers or employees. Webster was the first Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault charge and the first to present a self-defense argument. A jury rejected the claim that he was defending himself when he tackled officer Noah Rathbun and grabbed his gas mask. He was sentenced by Judge Amit P. Mehta to 10 years — the longest sentence yet. Two other rioters were sentenced separately to seven years and three months in prison.
In a court filing prosecutors accused 56-year-old Thomas Webster of “disgracing a democracy that he once fought honorably to protect and serve,” CBS News reports. Prosecutors said that Webster led the charge against police barricades at the Capitol’s Lower West Plaza, The Washington Post reports. They also likened the attack to a medieval battle, with rioters pelting officers with makeshift projectiles and engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
Federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of 17 years and six months. The court’s probation department recommended a 10-year sentence.
“Nothing can explain or justify Mr. Webster’s rage. Nothing can explain or justify his violence,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Mirell said, according to the Post.
Webster tried to convince jurors that a D.C. police officer instigated the fight. His attorney said Webster showed “restraint,” according to NBC News, and Webster testified that he grabbed the officer’s gas mask so that the officer could “see my hands.” The D.C. officer testified that he struggled to breathe when Webster tackled him and ripped off his gas mask.
Prosecutors argued that Webster was clearly lying on the stand. Webster pleaded to the jury that Rathbun was the instigator, and at that moment, he felt like the cop and had to take control.
The Justice Department was prepared with visual evidence that opposed Webster’s argument. The footage in fact showed that Webster was the aggressor when Rathbun attempted to keep him from proceeding into the Capitol.
Officer Rathbun did not take the stand to testify against Webster.
Defense attorney James Monroe argued that the mob was “guided by unscrupulous politicians” and others promoting the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from the Republican party.
He questioned why prosecutors argued that Webster didn’t deserve leniency for his 25 years of service to his country and New York City.
As he handed down Webster’s sentence, Mehta commented, “Mr. Webster, I don’t think you’re a bad person,” the Post reports.
“I think you got caught in a moment,” he continued. “But as you know, even getting caught up in a moment has consequences.”
Webster’s 10-year sentence is the result of proceedings that started with his first court appearance in May, when jurors deliberated for less than three hours before they convicted Webster of all six counts in his indictment, including:
- Assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer using a dangerous weapon.
- Civil disorder.
- Entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon.
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct on restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon.
- Engaging in physical violence on restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon.
- Engaging in an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.
