Former Nypd Officer Thomas Webster Sentenced To 10 Years Jan. 6 For Assault On Police

Comment A former NYPD officer and Marine Corps veteran who swung an anti-police flagpole before confronting an officer and pulling off his gas mask during the Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, the longest sentence handed down so far among the more than 860 people charged in the rebellion. Thomas Webster, 56, of Goshen, New York, was the first riot defendant to face a felony charge of assaulting a police officer to try his luck with a jury. Twelve others pleaded guilty to a similar charge. Webster took the witness stand at his trial and testified that he was acting in self-defense, saying that DC Police Officer Noah Rathbun had instigated the fight. The video shows Webster yelling at police in the Capitol’s Lower West Plaza as officers tried to maintain a perimeter outside the building. Rathbun then shoved Webster in the face — Rathbun testified his hand slipped from Webster’s shoulder — before Webster swung and broke a Marine Corps flagpole on a bicycle rack and then tackled Rathbun. Webster pulled off the officer’s gas mask, causing Rathbun to begin choking on tear gas, the officer testified. Jurors took three hours to find Webster guilty in May of the assault and four other felony charges. In the government’s sentencing brief, Assistant U.S. Attorney Java Mirrell said Webster’s argument that “a 20-year veteran of New York City believed he had the right to retaliate with deadly and dangerous force against vulnerable and nonviolent Officer Rathbun is not only absurd, but also dangerous. It may cause others to follow suit and use violence against an officer because of a political grievance.” Two officers fought in the Capitol uprising on January 6. Who was wrong? Webster, a married father of three, admitted to driving alone in Washington on Jan. 5, carrying his NYPD-issued handgun, which he did not take to the Capitol. He wore a tactical vest and carried a Marine Corps flag into the Capitol. Records show he served in the Marines from 1985 to 1989 and the NYPD from 1990 to 2011. Federal sentencing guidelines set a sentence range of 210 to 262 months, or 17.5 to 21.8 years. Prosecutors recommended 17 years for Webster, the stiffest sentence they have recommended for a Jan. 6 defendant. The recommendation of the government was still the low end of the range, even as they argued that Webster was condemned for “taking the initiative in breaching the police line in the Lower West Plaza and dishonoring a democracy it once fought honorably to protect and serve.” In his closing arguments, Webster’s attorney, James E. Monroe, criticized Rathbun for using inappropriate force and called him a “dishonest, unprofessional police officer.” But in his sentencing memorandum filed last week, Monroe took a different approach. He said Webster, who once served as a bodyguard for then-New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, “was one of the few people among the thousands of Americans present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 who should have fully appreciated the enormous task was entrusted to Officer Rathbun and his fellow officers.’ “In this light,” wrote Monroe, “Mr. Webster does not have a valid excuse for verbally abusing the officers who were present along the police line. pushing on the bike rack. using his flagpole to threaten Officer Rathbun. or engage in the unspeakable act of assaulting and striking Officer Rathbun to the ground.’ Former NYPD officer found guilty in first police assault trial Jan. 6 Monroe noted that the federal probation office recommended a sentence of 120 months or 10 years. He asked U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta to impose a term below the 210-262 month range of the sentencing guidelines, which are advisory. Of the 12 defendants who pleaded guilty to assaulting police on Jan. 6, the average sentence was 41.6 months. Of the four defendants in that group who admitted to a more aggravated assault, for which Webster was convicted, the average sentence was 54 months. All 12 of those defendants received credit at sentencing for “admitting responsibility,” which lowers the sentencing guidelines. Webster was only the 33rd defendant to be convicted and sentenced for any felony in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, a Washington Post database shows. The average felony sentence so far has been slightly less than 31 months. Only one felony defendant has not been sentenced to prison, Jacob Fracker. Also a police officer, Fracker was placed on two months’ house arrest after testifying against his co-defendant, fellow officer Thomas Robertson. Robertson was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after a jury found him guilty of obstruction of Congress and other charges. There have now been eight jury trials, resulting in eight convictions. There have been 10 trials, with nine convictions. The acquittal came after a judge found that police had allowed the accused to enter the Capitol. Robertson and Guy Reffitt, who were both convicted at trial but not charged with assaulting the police, were both jailed for 87 months. This was the largest penalty to date.

title: “Former Nypd Officer Thomas Webster Sentenced To 10 Years Jan. 6 For Assault On Police Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-08” author: “Hope Wormley”

Comment A former NYPD officer and Marine Corps veteran who swung an anti-police flagpole before confronting an officer and pulling off his gas mask during the Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, the longest sentence handed down so far among the more than 860 people charged in the rebellion. Thomas Webster, 56, of Goshen, New York, was the first riot defendant to face a felony charge of assaulting a police officer to try his luck with a jury. Twelve others pleaded guilty to a similar charge. Webster took the witness stand at his trial and testified that he was acting in self-defense, saying that DC Police Officer Noah Rathbun had instigated the fight. The video shows Webster yelling at police in the Capitol’s Lower West Plaza as officers tried to maintain a perimeter outside the building. Rathbun then shoved Webster in the face — Rathbun testified his hand slipped from Webster’s shoulder — before Webster swung and broke a Marine Corps flagpole on a bicycle rack and then tackled Rathbun. Webster pulled off the officer’s gas mask, causing Rathbun to begin choking on tear gas, the officer testified. Jurors took three hours to find Webster guilty in May of the assault and four other felony charges. In the government’s sentencing brief, Assistant U.S. Attorney Java Mirrell said Webster’s argument that “a 20-year veteran of New York City believed he had the right to retaliate with deadly and dangerous force against vulnerable and nonviolent Officer Rathbun is not only absurd, but also dangerous. It may cause others to follow suit and use violence against an officer because of a political grievance.” Two officers fought in the Capitol uprising on January 6. Who was wrong? Webster, a married father of three, admitted to driving alone in Washington on Jan. 5, carrying his NYPD-issued handgun, which he did not take to the Capitol. He wore a tactical vest and carried a Marine Corps flag into the Capitol. Records show he served in the Marines from 1985 to 1989 and the NYPD from 1990 to 2011. Federal sentencing guidelines set a sentence range of 210 to 262 months, or 17.5 to 21.8 years. Prosecutors recommended 17 years for Webster, the stiffest sentence they have recommended for a Jan. 6 defendant. The recommendation of the government was still the low end of the range, even as they argued that Webster was condemned for “taking the initiative in breaching the police line in the Lower West Plaza and dishonoring a democracy it once fought honorably to protect and serve.” In his closing arguments, Webster’s attorney, James E. Monroe, criticized Rathbun for using inappropriate force and called him a “dishonest, unprofessional police officer.” But in his sentencing memorandum filed last week, Monroe took a different approach. He said Webster, who once served as a bodyguard for then-New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, “was one of the few people among the thousands of Americans present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 who should have fully appreciated the enormous task was entrusted to Officer Rathbun and his fellow officers.’ “In this light,” wrote Monroe, “Mr. Webster does not have a valid excuse for verbally abusing the officers who were present along the police line. pushing on the bike rack. using his flagpole to threaten Officer Rathbun. or engage in the unspeakable act of assaulting and striking Officer Rathbun to the ground.’ Former NYPD officer found guilty in first police assault trial Jan. 6 Monroe noted that the federal probation office recommended a sentence of 120 months or 10 years. He asked U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta to impose a term below the 210-262 month range of the sentencing guidelines, which are advisory. Of the 12 defendants who pleaded guilty to assaulting police on Jan. 6, the average sentence was 41.6 months. Of the four defendants in that group who admitted to a more aggravated assault, for which Webster was convicted, the average sentence was 54 months. All 12 of those defendants received credit at sentencing for “admitting responsibility,” which lowers the sentencing guidelines. Webster was only the 33rd defendant to be convicted and sentenced for any felony in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, a Washington Post database shows. The average felony sentence so far has been slightly less than 31 months. Only one felony defendant has not been sentenced to prison, Jacob Fracker. Also a police officer, Fracker was placed on two months’ house arrest after testifying against his co-defendant, fellow officer Thomas Robertson. Robertson was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after a jury found him guilty of obstruction of Congress and other charges. There have now been eight jury trials, resulting in eight convictions. There have been 10 trials, with nine convictions. The acquittal came after a judge found that police had allowed the accused to enter the Capitol. Robertson and Guy Reffitt, who were both convicted at trial but not charged with assaulting the police, were both jailed for 87 months. This was the largest penalty to date.