UNSEEN: POLICE AT CAPITOL WONDER WHY GOP ABANDONED THEM AFTER JAN. 6
July 27, 2021
The pain is real for the warriors who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, but four of those officers told lawmakers they’re hurt by being abandoned by many of the nation’s political class.
WASHINGTON – The pain, trauma and scars are still tangible for the police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6. Many of their wounds remain invisible to the naked eye — but the pain is palpable to anyone who stops to listen to these heroes. That was on display today, as four Capitol officers testified for three and a half hours before the select committee charged with investigating the riot.
The pain isn’t just from the bear and wasp spray that burned many officer’s unmasked eyes. It’s also not confined to the physical reminders many will now wear for life after being wounded with an assortment of weapons, including – but not confined to – copper, lead or PVC pipes, bats, a 4 x 4, flag poles, metal bike racks, tasers or the array of projectiles — including a speaker and a fire extinguisher – hurled at them by former President Trump’s supporters.
Much of their pain is internal. It flows from being betrayed by many of the government officials they swore an oath to protect, which is why these officers are demanding answers. That stands in stark contrast to the bulk of those in today’s Republican Party who have whitewashed, dismissed or lied about the savage brutality unleashed on what was once a global symbol of freedom: The nation’s Capitol.
“Even though there’s overwhelming evidence to the contrary, including hours and hours of video to photographic coverage, there’s a continuous shocking attempt to ignore and try to destroy the truth of what truly happened that day,” Sgt. Aquilino Gonell testified, sometimes through tears.
He emigrated to America from the Dominican Republic and served in the U.S. Army before joining the Capitol Police force, where he moved up the ranks.
“I feel like I went to hell and back to protect them and the people in this room, but too many are now telling me that hell doesn’t exist or that hell actually wasn’t that bad.”
DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone
“For most people, Jan. 6 happened for a few hours, but for those of us who were in the thick of it, it has not ended,” Gonell, like many officers who fought in hand-to-hand combat for hours that long day, told the lawmakers on the dais in front of him.
He’s not alone. Others are haunted, too, and not just the many Capitol officers who have quietly left the force since the siege.
“I was at risk of being stripped of and killed with my own firearm, as I heard chants of, ‘Kill him with his own gun,’” D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone testified. “I can still hear those words in my head today.”
Even with the GOP leadership’s boycott of the special committee, at one point Fanone demanded their attention.
“What makes the struggle harder and more painful is to know so many of my fellow citizens, including so many of the people I put my life at risk to defend, are downplaying or outright denying what happened,” Fanone, a former member of the Capitol police force, said. “I feel like I went to hell and back to protect them and the people in this room, but too many are now telling me that hell doesn’t exist or that hell actually wasn’t that bad.”
“The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful,” he yelled as he smacked the table. “My law enforcement career prepared me to cope with some of the aspects of this experience. Being an officer, you know your life is at risk whenever you walk out the door, even if you don’t expect otherwise law-abiding citizens to take up arms against you. But nothing — truly nothing — has prepared me to address those elected members of our government who continue to deny the events that day and in doing so, betray their oath of office.”
The bewildering thing to so many is they’ve now become political pawns, even as they rejected politics their entire careers and instead swore their allegiance to the Constitution.
“I don’t think our response to the insurrection should have anything to do with political parties,” Fanone testified, “I’ve worked in the city for two decades, and I’ve never cared about those things no matter who was in office.”
For Black officers, the day included getting called the N-word and fearing their lives would end at the hands of the mostly white mob clad in Trump gear.
“Everything is different, but nothing has changed.”
Officer Harry Dunn
“Well, it’s not a secret that it was political. They literally were there to ‘stop the steal.’ So when people say it shouldn’t be political: It was, and it is,” Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn testified. “There’s no getting around that. Telling the truth shouldn’t be hard. Fighting on Jan. 6 was hard. Showing up Jan. 7 — that was hard.”
The mob scene astounded, terrified and appalled many Americans, but for those who work at the Capitol – me included– it was beyond unsettling because one of the most elite police forces in the nation was hung out to dry by the very officials they serve and protect daily.
“Until then, I had never seen anyone physically assault Capitol Police, or MPD, let alone witness the mass assaults they perpetrated on law enforcement officers,” Dunn recounted. “I witnessed the rioters using all kinds of weapons against officers, including flag poles, metal bike racks that they had torn apart, and various kinds of projectiles.”
The Republican Party’s indifference to the brutality of the brazen attack only makes the wounds harder to heal, which is why the officers gained some – though not much – solace in the presence of two members of the GOP on the panel.
“No member of Congress should now attempt to defend the indefensible, obstruct this investigation or whitewash what happened that day. He must act with honor and duty and in the interest of our nation,” Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) said. “Our children are watching.”
Cheney was booted out of GOP leadership in the wake of the attack after she repeatedly — and quite publicly — held Trump accountable for stoking and inciting the insurrection. She’s joined on the panel by Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
“I’m here to investigate Jan. 6 not in spite of my membership in the Republican Party but because of it,” the Illinois lawmaker and Air Force lieutenant colonel said. “Not to win a political fight, but to learn the facts and defend our democracy.”
Their presence was welcomed by the tear-soaked officers who remain bewildered, abandoned and full of unanswered questions.
“I need you guys to address if anyone in power had a role in this, if anyone in power coordinated or aided or abetted or tried to downplay, tried to prevent the investigation of this terrorist attack, because we can’t do it,” Hodges implored the special committee. “We’re not allowed to.”
“For most people, Jan. 6 happened for a few hours, but for those of us who were in the thick of it, it has not ended.”
Sgt. Aquilino Gonell
That dark day for the nation remains ever-present for the heroes who gave their all to protect the very politicians who left them on the battlefield.
“More than six months later, Jan. 6 still isn’t over for me. I got to avail myself of multiple counseling sessions from the Capitol Police Employee Assistance Program, and I’m now receiving private counseling therapy for the persistent emotional trauma of that day. I’ve also participated in many peer support programs with fellow law enforcement officers from around the United States,” Officer Dunn testified. “I know so many other officers continue to hurt, both physically and emotionally.”
That’s also why these – along with so many other Capitol officers – are wondering why no security protocols have been overhauled since they sacrificed so the great American experiment would continue, even if just for one more day.
“Everything is different,” Dunn said, “but nothing has changed.”