An ex-NYPD cop who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, making it the longest punishment to be handed down in connection with the riots so far.
"What you did that day, it is hard to really put into words," Judge Amit P. Mehta told Thomas Webster on Thursday, NBC News reported. "I still remain shocked every single time I see [video of the attack]."
In May, Webster was found guilty of all charges filed against him, including civil disorder, assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, and entering and remaining in a restricted building. Webster was seen in video footage verbally abusing police and attacking officer Noah Rathbun, who testified about being attacked with the pole and later dragged to the ground. Webster also tried to rip off Rathbun's gas mask, leaving him unable to breathe.
In a letter, Webster's lawyers argued that he got caught up in a frenzy that was fueled by political lies and conspiracy theories. They also wrote that Webster told a psychologist he had attacked Rathbun because “at that moment, I had flashbacks of the struggle we had on the staircase,” referring to testimony in May that he was trying to protect himself from a "rogue cop."
Webster is among the more than 840 people arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 riots. Former police officer Thomas Robertson was sentenced to more than seven years in prison, as well as Texan Guy Reffitt. Robert Scott Palmer was sentenced to 63 months in prison, while Devlyn Thompson and Lonnie Leroy Coffman were sentenced to 46 months. Nicholas Languerand was sentenced to 44 months in prison.
Also on Thursday, Julian Khater of New Jersey pleaded guilty to using pepper spray on police officers, and could face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced later this year.