On Monday, former New York City police officer and fervent Donald Trump supporter Thomas Webster was convicted of six charges, including assaulting a Washington, DC, police officer during the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. He now faces 20 years in prison.
Webster, 56, claimed during trial that he was “defending himself” when he swung a metal flagpole at police and tackled one to the ground, and choked him by his chin strap. The jury, however, didn’t buy his claim and convicted him on all six charges, CNN reports.
The former cop and Marine is the fourth January 6 rioter to be convicted by a jury and the first to be convicted by a jury in a police assault case from the insurrection.
During closing arguments, prosecutor, Brian Kelly told the jury, “this case is about rage,” adding that while Webster wants to blame the victim, DC officer Noah Rathbun, “it was Webster who first attacked Rathbun and Webster who crossed police lines to tackle the officer.”
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The jury took roughly two hours of deliberations before returning with a guilty verdict.
