Prosecutors say retired NYPD cop viciously beat police officer with metal pole during Capitol riot

0
1023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A retired New York Police Department officer and former Marine is facing charges after his alleged attack on a law enforcement officer, as well as other crimes, during the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 that disrupted a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming Presidential election results.

Thomas Webster, 54, of Town of Florida, New York, was hit with a slew of charges.

Webster was taken into custody Monday.

The affidavit  against Webster alleges that body worn camera footage depicts Webster’s assault on a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who was assisting the U.S. Capitol Police in securing the exterior plaza of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. According to the affidavit, the body worn camera footage shows Webster — wearing a red, black, and white snow jacket, blue jeans, and brown work boots — approaching the MPD officer, who is barricaded behind a metal gate. Webster, carrying a large metal flagpole with a U.S. Marine Corps flag attached to it, waves his finger at the MPD officer, yelling: “You f——- piece of s—. You —-ing Commie m————, man . . . . Come on, take your s— off. Take your s—- off.”

After berating the officer, Webster aggressively shoves the metal gate, behind which the officer was standing, into the officer’s body and then arms himself with the metal flagpole. The footage then shows Webster raising the metal flagpole above his head and forcefully swinging downward, striking the metal barricade directly in front of the MPD officer. Webster then attempts to attack the officer by lunging toward him with the metal flagpole, striking at the officer with the flagpole numerous times. Webster proceeds to break through the metal barricade and begins charging toward the officer with clenched fists. Webster ultimately lunges at the officer and tackles him to the ground. The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint further alleges that additional footage posted to an open source Twitter medium captures the assault and shows Webster pinning the officer to the ground and straddling him while he tries forcibly to remove the officer’s face shield and gas mask. According to the affidavit, the officer could not breathe during the assault because he was being choked by his chinstrap.

Video footage posted to YouTube depicts Webster on the staircase leading to the Upper West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol building, according to the affidavit. In that video footage, where he appears to be wearing a dark blue or black body armor vest over his torso, Webster says into the camera, “Send more patriots. We need some help.”

Facebook Comments