ASHINGTON – A retired New York Police Department officer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting a law enforcement officer during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Thomas Webster, 56, of the village of Florida, New York, was found guilty in the District of Columbia of five felonies and one misdemeanor for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. He was the first defendant to stand trial on charges that included assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon, a felony.
According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 6, at approximately 2:28 p.m., Webster was among rioters on the other side of metal barricades set up by law enforcement officers attempting to secure the Lower West Terrace area of the Capitol. Webster – who was carrying a large metal flagpole with a red U.S. Marine Corps flag – approached an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department who was behind the metal gates. Webster pointed his finger at the officer and began swearing at him, telling him, among other things to “take your sh— off,” an apparent invitation to the officer to take off his badge and fight.
Webster then aggressively shoved the metal gate into the officer’s body. He raised the flagpole and forcefully swung it toward the officer. The officer managed to wrest the flagpole away. Webster, however, then broke through the metal barricade, tackled the officer to the ground, and tried to remove his helmet and gas mask, choking him. During this attack, the officer struggled to breathe.
Webster was arrested on Feb. 21, 2021.
DOJ
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