Jan. 6: Former NYPD Cop Convicted of Assaulting Officer

Facts

• On Mon., a federal jury convicted NYPD veteran Thomas Webster of assaulting a Metropolitan Police Dept officer, Noah Rathbun, during the Jan. 6 riot. Webster is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 2.¹
• He was convicted of all 6 accounts against him, including assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, a metal flag pole.²
• He stated the officer instigated the fight and that he grabbed Rathbun's gas mask so that Rathbun could see his hands.³
• His defense was rejected by the jury due to video footage from a body camera that showed Webster yelling at Rathbun before throwing a bike rack at him.⁴
• Webster will remain free but monitored by an ankle bracelet until he's sentenced, as he has no previous convictions.¹
• This case represents the 4th guilty verdict in cases brought by the Justice Dept. for the Jan. 6 riot.⁵

Sources: ¹Daily Mail, ²Al Jazeera, ³CNBC, ⁴New York Post and ⁵Business Insider.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by The Hill. What happened on Jan. 6, 2021 was violent and extremely dangerous, and those who broke the law must be held to account. Jan. 6 could be a 'trial run' if the GOP retakes the house in Nov.; there's a very serious risk to democracy if Republicans have the votes to de-legitimize the 2024 presidential election.
• Right narrative, as provided by FOX News. All Americans, including the Jan. 6 rioters, have a Constitutional right to due process. Some Jan. 6 detainees were held for nearly a year without trial. To abandon Constitutional principles for political purposes is to abandon the very bedrock of American jurisprudence - many on the left should be ashamed for their actions in these cases.