Thread by @ZoeTillman

Hello from the DC federal courthouse, where a jury trial is expected to kick off today for Jan. 6 defendant Thomas Webster, charged with assaulting police on the Capitol grounds. Per filings, this could be an early test of how a self-defense claim plays out.

Pretrial statement laying out the gist of this case: documentcloud.org/documents/2165…

Webster's charging docs: documentcloud.org/documents/2049…

As of now, we expect this trial to have in-courtroom public access only, which means no public line and no phones/computers for those watching live, stay tuned

Thomas Webster's trial kicked off with dueling videos. Competing theories of the case are—
Govt: Webster was the aggressor, MPD officer was trying to create distance, Webster instigated violence
Defense: Webster was angry, but the officer instigated by punching him in the face

The jury saw the video below, which was prev. released as part of proceedings in Webster's case. Defense showed video of another angle above (which I don't think we'd gotten before), they contend it shows officer deliberately punched Webster and argue officer then lied about it

Lunch break in Jan. 6 defendant Thomas Webster's trial. They finished up with witness #1, a USCP captain who walked the jury through the layout of the Capitol complex and specifically the areas at issue in Webster's case on the grounds on the west side

The jury saw bird's eye surveillance video on the west side of the Capitol grounds as 100s of ppl amassed, with a single line of police between that crowd and the plaza leading to the building, and then as rioters pushed back that line and ultimately broke through it

Here's the video showing another angle of the altercation that Webster's lawyer argues shows the officer instigating w/ a punch. It appears to show Webster shoving the bike racks, followed by the officer swatting him back (quality/distance makes it hard to see detail)

A NY man recorded at the Capitol on Jan. 6 shoving security barriers, swinging a flagpole at an officer, and knocking the officer down and trying to rip off their helmet is arguing he acted in self defense.

Here's what the jury saw and heard on Day 1:
buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

An MPD detective who investigated Jan. 6 attacks on police said the officer allegedly assaulted by Thomas Webster reported an injury — an unrelated one. He wasn't surprised the officer didn't remember the altercation, given the chaos and trauma of the day. buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

"If I could forget that, I would," the detective testified. He described combing through footage from dozens of MPD body cameras that captured police confrontations with rioters on Jan. 6 up close.
buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

The defense theory is that Webster was provoked by the MPD officer he's charged with assaulting. One govt witness testified that he thought Rathbun showed restraint, disarming Webster of the flagpole he was swinging and then retreating w/out using weapons buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

The jury heard from a US Capitol Police officer who was part of the line trying to hold off the mob in front of the Capitol. As rioters pushed through, she said the situation became v. dangerous b/c a) they didn't know if people were armed b) the threat was in all directions

The USCP officer said rioters were throwing anything they could find, she was hit in the head with a wooden plank but wasn't injured thanks to her helmet + beanie that helped absorb the blow. She said other officers around her had no protective gear.

Webster's trial will pick up again tomorrow at 9am. The MPD officer that Webster is charged with assaulting is expected to testify.

Read the play-by-play from court today + watch two key videos at issue for yourself: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…