WASHINGTON DC – Thomas Webster, 56, a former US Marine and retired NYPD officer, was sentenced to prison on Thursday for his role in the January 6, 2021 storming of the capitol. Webster, a resident of the Village of Florida, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Steven D’Antuono said on Thursday, “When he assaulted an officer at the U.S. Capitol that day, Mr. Webster betrayed not only his oath but also his fellow law enforcement officers. Today’s sentencing – the longest given to any Capitol riots subject to date — matches the gravity of Mr. Webster’s offenses.”
Webster was the first defendant to stand trial on charges that included assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon as a felony. The charges against him carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
According to the government’s evidence, on January 6, 2021, 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.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said. “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.”
