Ex-NYPD cop sobs in court as he gets 10 years in prison for attacking DC officer at the Capitol on Jan. 6
New York City Police Officer Thomas Webster sobbed in court as the judge told him that he would get the level 4 sentence enhancement which would add 6.25 years to his sentence over beating a Capitol Police officer on Jan. 6, 2021. The federal prosecutors were seeking a 17-year sentence
“I just wish the events of Jan. 6 didn’t happen," he cried. He went on to say that he told his children to disown him and he regrets going to the attack.
“Perhaps our country would not be as divided as it is today” if Jan 6 hadn’t happened, Webster said. He then explained that the shame he has experienced would be worse than jail. Webster then closed by saying “I’m sorry.”
The police officer he assaulted was present in the courtroom, reported those watching the court unfold. Webster didn't apologize to the officer, however.
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Judge Amit Mehta acknowledged that Webster is 56 years old, had a challenging childhood but rose above it. He cited his honorable service in the Marines and 20 years at the NYPD where he suffered health problems after the Sept. 11 terror attack.
Mehta said he weighed the history but that he didn't believe Webster was in a "fight or flight scenario," which is what Webster claimed led to the assault on police.
"I'm terribly sorry for all of it," the judge continued, "but Jan. 6 was not just one day or moment in time. It is a day that continues to affect the very fabric of this country and the lives of real human beings, Americans."
"What you did that day is really hard to put into words," Judge Mehta continued with a sigh. He said he's watched the video multiple times and continues to be shocked, not by what Webster did, "but who he is."
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"No doubt about it. You were the one, with extraordinary force, who pulled the officer down," said Mehta, which seriously hurt him. "And when the barriers opened, nobody pushed you forward. You ran. You charged ahead."
He went on to blame Webster for whipping up those at the police line that was holding the barriers in place at the Capitol.
"I take no pleasure in doing this. There is no doubt in my mind that your conception of what happened that day and how you described it was utterly fanciful and incredible," Judge Mehta continued, noting he's not trying to be cruel but being honest. "The idea that you could sit on that witness stand, under oath, and tell those jurors that the reason you had your hands on his face mask was to show him your hands, to show him you're not going to hurt him is just not believable."
He went on to chastise Webster for telling the jury that the police "waved him in," a common excuse that those on the right have used to justify breaking through the Capitol barriers and through the doors and windows of the building. He said that the Washington, D.C. officer was simply trying to do his job.
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"I too wish you hadn't come to Washington DC. I too wish you had stayed at home in New York.. that you had not come out to the Capitol that day, because all of us would be far better off. Not just you... your family.. the country," said Mehta.
"Whether you were told the election was stolen or whether you came to believe it on your own," the judge came on, "we cannot function as a country if people think they can behave violently when they lose an election."
It's for that reason, he explained, that he believes that Webster deserves harsher sentencing than other Jan. 6 attackers.
The ultimate sentence was 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
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