A federal court sentenced a former New York City police officer to 10 years in prison on Thursday for attacking law officers during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. This is the heaviest jail term to far in the extensive investigation.
In May, a jury found Thomas Webster guilty of many offences related to his involvement in the mob, including attacking police and engaging in violent and disorderly behaviour on the grounds of the Capitol.
Following the guilty convictions, Webster, a veteran of the Marine Corps, was released on 24-hour home detention. However, prosecutors requested Judge Amit Mehta to impose the worst term yet — up to 210 months in prison — in the hundreds of Jan. 6 charges that have reached sentencing.
Given Webster’s 25 years of service as a Marine and police officer as well as his subsequent indications of contrition for his acts, Mehta sentenced him to 120 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release.
The Justice Department said in court papers submitted before to Thursday’s sentence that Webster “spearheaded” a breach into the police barrier on the west front of the Capitol and was accountable for “disgracing a democracy that he once fought proudly to preserve and serve.”
“Despite his expertise and experience, Webster did not attempt to diffuse the situation or leave the area, the authorities said. Instead, he took the lead. To get to the front of the mob, Webster had to fight his way through the tightly packed mass for eight minutes.”
Webster, though, refuted allegations of 2020 election fraud in pre-sentence materials of his own and included a letter of support from a friend who accuses former President Trump of telling “despicable falsehoods.”
This story is still developing.