By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A New York Police Department veteran was charged with assaulting a New York Police Department officer in connection to the January 6, 2021 violence at the U.S. Capitol. This is the latest step by prosecutors to increase their record of convictions.

The trial opened with jurors seeing video of Thomas Webster, 56, hitting a police officer using a flagpole, before taking him to ground.

Hava Mirell, the prosecutor for this case told jurors that it was about an ex-officer violently attacking another officer. She also stated that Webster was “rage-filled” and repeatedly attacked the officer who had become overwhelmed.

Webster’s defense lawyer showed jurors the incident through another angle. He said the officer had “instigated the” incident by hitting Webster in his face.

The officer “started the whole thing — that’s the truth,” the defense lawyer, James E. Monroe, told the jury.

Webster is one of four Capitol riot defendants currently on trial.

Court filings show that Webster was in the Marine Corps and then spent about twenty years at the New York Police Department.

Webster drove from Washington to Washington, where he stayed overnight at a hotel. On Jan. 6, 2021, Webster attended the rally of former President Donald Trump in front The White House.

Webster, with other Trump supporters, made a walk to the Capitol, where lawmakers had certified President Joe Biden’s victory.

His arrest was made in February 2021. He was released from prison while waiting for his trial.

Nearly 800 are being held responsible for the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, which disrupted joint sessions of Congress and forced lawmakers to flee. Up to 250 people have pleaded guilty so far.

The prosecution has won convictions in three jury trials to date, however they also have mixed records in non-jury trials.