Former New York Police Department officer Thomas Webster was just handed down the longest sentence of any January 6 defendant so far. Webster was unsuccessful in trying to convince a Washington, DC, jury that he was acting in self-defense against a police officer he assaulted on January 6, 2021, and it's an odd plea since there is a horrifying video showing him attacking a police officer with a flagpole. The former police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday.

Via NBC News:

Jurors convicted Webster, 56, in May after they determined he was lying on the stand when he tried to convince them he was trying to help the officer he assaulted to "see my hands" when he grabbed the officer's gas mask after he tackled him to the ground.

"What you did that day, it is hard to really put into words," Judge Amit P. Mehta told Webster. "I still remain shocked every single time I see" video of the attack.

A former police officer putting police officers through this is mind-boggling.

"I can never look at my kids the same way again," Webster said. "The way they look at me, it's different now. ... I was their hero until January 6."

Via CNN:

During the sentencing, prosecutors noted that Webster brought a firearm to Washington, DC, -- which he left behind on January 6 -- and wore his police-issued body armor to the Capitol.

Webster's attorney, James Monroe, blamed former President Donald Trump and the Republican party for turning his client and "otherwise decent, law-abiding individuals ... against fellow Americans," according to the outlet.

It sounds like Webster was prepared for war. And all of this for one terribly flawed man. I'll never understand it.