A former officer with the New York Police Department was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison for his role in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, the longest sentence yet for a January 6 case.
Thomas Webster was convicted in May on numerous charges in connection to the riot, including assaulting officers and violent and disorderly conduct on US Capitol grounds, CBS News reported.
A jury in Washington rejected arguments that Webster, a former marine, acted in self-defence when he attacked Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun.
Officer Rathbun's body camera captured Webster hurling profanities before making physical contact.
Webster wore a bulletproof vest and carried a US Marine Corps flag when he and other rioters stormed the Capitol.
“I, too, wish you hadn't come to Washington, DC," DC Federal Judge Amit Mehta said, as reported by CBS News, when he delivered the sentencing.
"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."
Webster was handed a sentence of 120 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release.
Prosecutors had asked for a 17-year jail term.
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Donald Trump, the president at the time, speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president in Washington on January 6, 2021. AP -
A mob loyal to Mr Trump tries to break through a police barrier at the Capitol. AP -
The mob waves pro-Trump flags in front of the Capitol building. AP -
Riot police push back a crowd of rioters at the Capitol building. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol building. AFP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump try to open a door of the US Capitol building as they riot in Washington. AP -
US Capitol Police push back rioters trying to enter the US Capitol. AP -
Police and rioters confront each other in the Rotunda of the Capitol. US Capitol Police via AP -
Smoke fills the hallway outside the Senate chamber of the Capitol. AP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump breach the Capitol in Washington. AP -
Trump supporters, including Doug Jensen, centre, confront US Capitol Police in the hallway outside the Senate chamber at the Capitol. AP -
Newly installed razor wire tops the fence surrounding the US Capitol following the January 6 riot. Reuters -
Security agents and members of Congress barricade the door to the House chamber as the violent mob breaches the Capitol. AP -
Rioter Jacob Chansley holds a sign referencing QAnon as supporters of Mr Trump gather to protest the early results of the 2020 presidential election. Reuters
The Department of Justice, before Thursday's hearing, argued that Webster had “spearheaded” a breach of the police line protecting the Capitol building.
In a court filing, prosecutors accused him of “disgracing a democracy that he once fought honourably to protect and serve”.
“Each individual attack on an officer at the West Plaza weakened the defensive line, fuelled the crowd and brought the rioters one step closer towards disrupting our democracy,” they wrote.
Before his sentencing, Webster blamed former president Donald Trump for “despicable lies” and disavowed his claims of election fraud.
Webster's sentencing came hours before President Joe Biden was scheduled to address the state of US democracy and call out Mr Trump during a primetime address. The White House said the Democratic president believes the country's democracy is at stake during the 2022 midterm elections.
Earlier on Thursday, a lawyer for the far-right group Oath Keepers was arrested and charged with conspiracy to corrupt the congressional January 6 probe, obstruction of an official proceeding and obstruction of justice for document tampering.
Kellye SoRelle also faces misdemeanour charges for trespassing on Capitol Grounds, prosecutors said.
