The harsh sentence was announced Thursday. A retired New York police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Washington for his role in the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, the longest sentence handed down to date against one of the attackers.
Thomas Webster, 56, attacked a policeman with a flagpole and ripped off the gas mask of this official in charge of protecting the Congress building during the riots.
“He chose to escalate the situation”
The scene, filmed with a body camera carried by the victim, testified to the violence of those moments and allowed the jury of the federal court in Washington to agree in May on the guilt of Thomas Webster.
“He chose to escalate the situation, brutally […]. Today’s sentencing holds him accountable for his repeated attacks on an officer that day,” said Matthew Graves, a prosecutor with the US Department of Justice.
The former police officer, who also served in the Marine Corps, was arrested on Feb. 21, 2021, and convicted by a jury of five misdemeanors three months later, including assaulting police officers with a dangerous weapon.
In the same statement, the Ministry of Justice justifies the severity of the sentence by the previous state of Thomas Webster.
“Mr. Webster not only betrayed his oath, but also his fellow law enforcement officers, who risk their lives every day to protect the public,” said Steven D’Antuono, an FBI official in Washington.
After the assault on January 6, 2021, more than 860 people were arrested. Former President Donald Trump promised in an interview broadcast on Thursday that he intends to pardon all attackers on Capitol Hill if he is re-elected to the White House.
Source: BFM TV
