What did Thomas Webster do? Former NYPD cop sentenced to 10 years in prison for role in Capitol riots

Thomas Webster, a former NYPD officer, was given a 10-year jail term by a federal judge for assaulting a Washington D.C. police officer on the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021. He was found guilty of multiple felonies on Thursday, September 1, 2022.

In a case connected to the unrest at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta sentenced Thomas Webster to the longest sentence to date.

The judge said:

“What you did that day, it is hard to really put into words. I still remain shocked every single time I see video of the attack. The other victim was democracy."

The video tape from that day shows Webster attempting to beat the cop with a flag pole and taking off his gas mask.

---

A deeper look into ex-cop Thomas Webster's role in Jan 6 Capitol riot

Based on the video footage, the 56-year-old ex-Marine can be seen throwing a metal flagpole at DC officer Noah Rathbun. Webster then tackles and chokes the latter with his chinstrap near the US Capitol.

Webster was convicted in May of all six allegations against him, five of which were felonies.

Judge Amit Mehta said of the video:

"Nobody pushed you forward, you ran, noting several times how the video completely contradicted Webster's own testimony of the assault."

Thomas Webster, meanwhile, tried to convince them that he was trying to allow the officer he had tackled to the ground to see his hands.

Mehta described Webster's testimony as "utterly fantastical." He added that the former cop's claims of self-defense were simply not plausible in reference to his statement from the witness stand in May and noted:

"You constructed an alternative truth."

Webster begged Mehta for "mercy" and spoke through tears before his sentence was given, stating that he "failed to have the courage to contain" himself that day. He said:

"I can never look at my kids the same way again. The way they look at me, it's different now....I was their hero until January 6."

Prosecutors mentioned that Webster carried a gun to Washington, DC, which he left behind on January 6. He also went to the Capitol wearing his police-issued body armor.

Due to Webster being shielded by the armor, Judge Amit Mehta decided to add four levels to his augmentation. This alone increased the minimum sentence he could have received by 30 months.

Reportedly, Mehta characterized Thomas Webster as an average American who "lost everything in a split second" while serving as a public servant in the NYPD and the Marine Corps.

U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said in a statement on Thursday:

"As a former Marine and retired police officer, Thomas Webster could readily see the growing dangers to law enforcement when he and other members of the mob targeted the Capitol on January 6th. He chose to escalate the situation, brutally going on the attack. Today's sentence holds him accountable for his repeated attacks of an officer that day."

Thomas Webster was found guilty of using a dangerous weapon to assault, obstruct, or interfere with an officer.

Additionally, he was charged with bringing a dangerous weapon onto and remaining on a property that was off-limits. He was also charged with using a dangerous weapon to commit physical violence on property that was off-limits and committing a violent act on the grounds of the Capitol.

Thomas Webster received a $2,060 reparation order and three years of monitored probation as part of his sentence.