Photo: Department of Justice
Former New York Police Department officer Thomas Webster was sentenced to ten years behind bars for his actions during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Webster's conviction is the longest yet for somebody convicted of crimes related to the riot. Previously, Guy Reffitt held the distinction of the longest prison sentence, after he received just over seven years in jail in August.
In May, a jury convicted Webster on all six counts against him, including a felony charge of assaulting a police officer. Webster claimed that he acted in self-defense when he attacked D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun and ripped off his gas mask.
Prosecutors argued that Webster was the aggressor as he stormed the Capitol Building and showed video of him swinging a metal flagpole and tearing down bike racks that were being used as barricades.
The jury reached a decision in just three hours, rejecting his claims of self-defense.
Judge Amit P. Mehta brought up Webster's claims during the trial when he handed down the sentence.
"The video doesn't lie," Mehta said. "The jury saw through it, I saw through it, it wasn't that hard. And I'm sorry you thought you could get up there and suggest otherwise."