Police recount mayhem and attempted coup Hits: 203
WASHINGTON Four police officers on Tuesday told lawmakers they were beaten, taunted with racial insults, heard threats including kill him with his own gun and thought they might die as they struggled to defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 against a mob of then-President Donald Trump s supporters. Often tearful, sometimes profane, the officers called the rioters terrorists engaged in an attempted coup during a 3-1/2 hour congressional hearing in which they also criticized Republican lawmakers who have sought to downplay the attack. I feel like I went to hell and back to protect the people in this room, said District of Columbia police officer Michael Fanone, referring to lawmakers. The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful, Fanone added, slamming his hand onto the witness table.
By Larry Spilman
Jul 27, 2021
During Tuesday s first House select committee hearing into the January 6th riot at the Capitol, Central Florida Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy said she feared for her life during the attack. Police officers who defended the building that day testified before Murphy and other committee members. Murphy said she and another Congresswoman had taken refuge in an office in the basement and thought they were safe. Officer Fanone, you had said he were 250 feet off of that tunnel and you felt certain that they were going to kill you, Murphy said. Imagine if they had caught the two members of Congress that were just 40 feet from where you all were.
This is how I m going to die : Police testify on US Capitol riot
The gripping accounts served as opening testimony in a landmark first hearing of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack
July 28, 2021 04:36 BST
Four police officers delivered graphic, riveting testimony Tuesday about their violent clashes with rioters while defending the US Capitol on January 6, as a congressional panel launched its probe of the deadly insurrection.
Defying several Republicans openly opposed to scrutinizing the attack blamed on supporters of former president Donald Trump, the witnesses described being punched, kicked, pepper sprayed, threatened with death and branded traitors by a rampaging mob intent on blocking certification of Joe Biden s election victory.
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One by one, the police officers described to a House select committee on Tuesday the horror they felt as rioters nearly overran our national legislature on Jan. 6, putting the people’s representatives within a few feet of a violent mob.
Officer Michael Fanone recalled being dragged from a line of around 30 officers battling to secure the Capitol. His ammunition was seized, he was beaten with fists and metal objects and he was shocked repeatedly by a Taser. “I’m sure I was screaming,” Fanone said, “but I don’t think I could even hear my own voice.”
Sgt. Aquilino Gonell’s skin was seared with pepper spray. His injuries required surgery and compelled him to go on leave. “That day continues to be a constant trauma for us, literally every day,” he said. He thought he was going to die.
Updated July 27, 2021 at 1:32 PM ET
As pro-Trump insurrectionists poured into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, a Black Capitol Police officer passionately testified Tuesday that he faced racist epithets, the likes of which he had never heard while serving in uniform. You hear that, guys, this n voted for Joe Biden! a woman in a pink MAGA shirt yelled toward Capitol Police Pfc. Harry Dunn, he recounted, after Dunn said he voted for President Biden. Boo! F n ! the crowd of about 20 yelled back, Dunn recalled.
Dunn said his story wasn t unique. He heard from another Black officer that insurrectionists yelled at that officer: Put your gun down, and we ll show you what kind of n you really are!