Longest prison term yet — 10 years — given to Jan 6 rioter who assaulted police officer

As reported in this Politico piece, a " federal judge on Thursday sentenced former New York cop Thomas Webster to 10 years in prison for assaulting a police officer outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the longest sentence handed down yet in cases that arise from the attack."  Here is more:

U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta described Webster’s assault on D.C. police officer Noah Rathbun as one of the most haunting and shocking images from that violent day.

“I do wish you hadn’t come to Washington D.C. I do wish you had stayed home in New York, that you had not come out to the Capitol that day,” Mehta said. “Because all of us would be far better off. Not just you, your family, country. We’d all be far better off. Yet here we are.”

Mehta said he viewed Webster’s conduct as among the most egregious of any defendant sentenced so far. Until Thursday, the lengthiest sentences had been given to Texas militia member Guy Reffitt and local Virginia police officer Thomas Robertson, who were convicted by juries of attempting to obstruct congressional proceedings.

It’s the latest in a string of steeper sentences that have been issued as rioters facing felony charges — some of whom have taken their cases to trial — learn their fate from the judges who have presided over their cases for more than a year.

Images of Webster attempting to rip the gas mask off of Rathbun’s face amid broader chaos at the Capitol are among the most indelible images to emerge from the Jan. 6 attack. Mehta expressed incredulity that Webster took the stand in his own defense and attempted to argue that his effort to rip the officer’s gas mask off was really just to show him his hands and prove he wasn’t a threat.

Notably, though this case represents the longest sentencing to date for a Jan 6 rioter, the sentence of 10 years is still a full 7+ years below what the federal sentencing guidelines recommended (and what the federal prosecutors requested).

Some of many prior related posts:

• Feds seeking (within-guideline) sentence of 17+ years for former NYPD Jan 6 defendant
• Federal judges expressing some concern about lenient plea deals for some Capitol riot defendants
• Recent Jan 6 rioter sentencings showcase different judges with different sentencing perspectives
• January 6 riot prosecutions continuing to spotlight realities of federal criminal justice case processing 
• Fascinating new AP accounting of all sentences given to January 6 rioters so far
• Politico provides new review of "Where Jan. 6 prosecutions stand, 18 months after the attack" 
• With first defendant now convicted after trial, how steep might the "trial penalty" be in the Jan 6 riot cases?
• Feds seeking (above-guideline) sentence of 15 years for first Jan 6 defendant to be sentenced after trial convictions
• District judge sentences first Jan 6 rioter convicted at trial to 87 months in federal prison (which was bottom of calculated guideline range)
• Another Jan 6 rioter who was convicted at trial sentenced to 87 months in federal prison