Thomas Webster the Capitol rioter dubbed the ‘eye gouger’ on social media because he was seen with his thumbs pressed into the eyes of a Capitol police officer and allegedly used a flag pole to beat police, is a former cop himself.
According to ABC New York, Webster, 54, is a 20-year NYPD veteran who had been assigned for a time to work perimeter security at City Hall and at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence. He also served in the Marine Corps.
The FBI released Webster’s image late last month as part of an ongoing investigation into the deadly Capitol riot. Law enforcement officials identified the man in the photos to be the retired cop.
According to ABC New York, when he learned his image had been circulated on social media, he went to his lawyer James Monroe, who told him the best course was to surrender in a show of good faith.
He surrendered on Monday at the FBI’s Hudson Valley office, nearly two months after the deadly riot.
He is facing charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a deadly weapon, obstruction of law enforcement, knowingly entering a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority with a weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restrictive building or grounds with a weapon, engaging in physical violence in a restrictive building or grounds, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
During a court appearance on Tuesday prosecutors alleged that he wore a bulletproof vest and was prepared for “armed conflict” during the Jan. 6 attack on the federal building. Prosecutors alleged that Webster attacked a Capitol police officer using a flag pole that was flying a Marine Corps flag and also pulled down the officer’s mask, causing him to choke, NBC reports.
