Former NYPD officer sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting a police officer on January 6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former New York Police Department officer Thomas Webster, who unsuccessfully tried to convince a Washington, DC, jury that he was merely acting in self-defense against a police officer who he assaulted on January 6, 2021, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday.

In videos played during his trial, the 56-year-old former Marine can be seen swinging a metal flagpole at DC officer Noah Rathbun before crossing police barriers and tackling Rathbun, choking him with the officer's chinstrap. In May, Webster was found guilty of all six charges he faced, five of which were felonies.

"It is not until you arrived, Mr. Webster, that all hell broke loose," Judge Amit Mehta said of the police line which Webster broke.

This is the longest sentence of any January 6 defendant so far.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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