Thomas Webster, a former New York Police Department officer, was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison after being found guilty in May of assaulting a police officer during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
The 56-year-old received the longest sentence so far for any of the Jan. 6 defendants.
During Webster's trial, video was shown of him taking a metal flagpole and swinging it at Noah Rathbun, a Washington, D.C., police officer, before tackling him. Webster testified that he was acting in self defense against Rathbun. Judge Amit Mehta on Thursday called this claim "just not credible" and the testimony "utterly fanciful."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Before he was sentenced, Webster said he "failed to have the courage to contain" himself at the Capitol, and asked Mehta for "mercy." He added, "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 Jan. 6." Rathbun was in the courtroom, and Webster turned to look at him and said he was sorry, CNN reports.
James Monroe, Webster's attorney, called his client's actions "seconds of stupidity," and said former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party turned Webster and "otherwise decent, law-abiding individuals ... against fellow Americans."
-
Testosterone therapy in women highlights the lack of women’s health researchThe explainer There is no FDA-approved testosterone product for women
-
Magazine solutions - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Magazine printables - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
President Trump: ‘waging war’ on ChicagoTalking Point Federal agents are carrying out ‘increasingly aggressive’ immigration raids – but have sanctuary cities like Chicago brought it on themselves?
-
The countries around the world without jury trialsThe Explainer Legal systems in much of continental Europe and Asia do not rely on randomly selected members of the public
-
ICC under attack: can court continue to function?Today's Big Question US sanctions 'designed not only to intimidate court officials and staff' but 'also to chill broader cooperation', say rights group
-
Birthright citizenship under threat in USThe Explainer Donald Trump wants to scrap the policy he calls a 'magnet for illegal immigration'
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
Judge reopens Trump challenge in secrets caseSpeed Read Aileen Cannon continues to delay and complicate the classified documents case
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
