Here’s what we know about the police officers who will testify in front of the Jan. 6 committee

0
254

The Home Choose Committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault will hear testimony Tuesday from 4 cops who have been on the entrance traces that day as rioters supporting then-President Donald Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in an try to cease lawmakers from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral win.The listening to will mark the primary time the panel can have public testimony, and can kick-start its efforts to research the occasions on Jan. 6.The 4 officers testifying — D.C. Metropolitan Police Officers Daniel Hodges and Michael Fanone, plus Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Sgt. Aquilino Gonell — have shared their tales publicly earlier than, which embrace accounts of being crushed with a flagpole, being the goal of racist slurs, being crushed in a door and being tased by the rioters.Throughout Tuesday’s listening to the officers will once more describe what they skilled on Jan. 6, in response to a supply acquainted with their plans, who informed CNN that the testimony will probably be “fairly vivid” at occasions.The witnesses will even increase questions for the committee to contemplate, stemming from how officers are nonetheless grappling with the bodily and psychological wounds they endured greater than six months in the past and the care that they’re, or will not be, receiving, the supply added.That is what we all know concerning the 4 officers who’re set to testify:MPD Officer Michael FanoneOf the a whole bunch of cops who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, none have grow to be extra outspoken than Fanone. He has met with lawmakers, publicly supported the creation of a bipartisan fee and slammed Republicans who whitewashed the violence of that day.CNN completely obtained Fanone’s body-worn digital camera footage, which reveals how he was pulled into the gang, crushed with a flagpole and repeatedly tased along with his personal Taser. Rioters stole his badge and grabbed at his service gun. When rioters stated they need to “kill him along with his personal gun,” Fanone pleaded with the mob and informed them, “I’ve youngsters,” in response to the video.4 folks have been charged in reference to the assault, together with one man who’s accused of utilizing the Taser. Fanone misplaced consciousness, suffered a coronary heart assault and was hospitalized after the clashes, in response to courtroom filings. The defendants have pleaded not responsible and are in jail whereas awaiting trial. Prosecutors have stated they’re making ready plea offers for a few of them.”I need folks to know the importance of Jan. 6. I need folks to know that, you understand, hundreds of rioters got here to the Capitol hell-bent on violence and destruction and homicide,” Fanone beforehand informed CNN.U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry DunnDunn has repeatedly spoken out about how he and his fellow Black officers are nonetheless grappling with their harrowing expertise on Jan. 6, once they endured racist assaults from insurrectionists throughout an assault on the U.S. Capitol.”The Black officer wrestle was totally different as in, like I stated, we fought towards not simply folks that have been, that hated what we represented, however they hate our pores and skin colour additionally,” Dunn informed CNN’s Don Lemon throughout a March interview. “That is only a truth, they usually used these phrases to show that. They confirmed that they hated us they usually hated our pores and skin colour.”Flags, indicators and symbols of racist, white supremacist and extremist teams have been displayed together with Trump 2023 banners and American flags on the riot. Black officers performed a key function in defending lawmakers in the course of the assault.Dunn is the one Black officer scheduled to seem earlier than the committee on Tuesday.Final week, Fox Information host Tucker Carlson sought to undermine Dunn’s credibility, claiming with out proof that he “is an indignant, left-wing political activist.””Dunn will fake to talk for the nation’s legislation enforcement group, nevertheless it seems Dunn has little or no in widespread along with your common cop,” Carlson stated on his present.The feedback prompted an instantaneous response from Dunn’s attorneys.”Tonight Fox Information allowed its host Tucker Carlson, who has not served a day in uniform, whether or not army or legislation enforcement, to criticize the heroism and repair of African-American U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn,” attorneys David H. Laufman and Mark S. Zaid stated in an announcement following the section.”Our shopper has served 13 years in legislation enforcement and on January 6, 2023, fought towards an insurrectionist violent crowd — little doubt a lot of them Carlson’s supporters — to guard the lives of our elected officers, together with Vice President Pence,” they wrote.U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino GonellGonell was crushed with a flagpole whereas defending the Capitol on Jan. 6. His hand was sliced open. And he was hit with a lot chemical spray that the liquid soaked by way of to his pores and skin.Throughout intense hand-to-hand fight with rioters on the west entrance of the Capitol, there have been moments the place Gonell thought he would possibly die.”They referred to as us traitors. They beat us. They dragged us,” Gonell informed CNN final month in his first interview concerning the violence he had skilled and witnessed. “And I may hear them, ‘We will shoot you. We will kill you. You are selecting your paycheck over the nation. You are a shame. You are a traitor.'”Gonell stated the FBI has requested him to view video of the assault to assist establish the rioters. It is nonetheless tough for him to look at footage of the occasions, he stated throughout the identical interview, having to relive the battles he fought whereas he was beneath assault.He nonetheless has a vivid reminiscence of what he confronted: of the pepper spray that pressured him and different officers from the entrance line, of the American flag poles, rocks and even guardrails pried from the inaugural stage that have been used to assault officers, and of the wrestle to maintain the flood of insurrectionists from forcing their manner by way of the door he was guarding.”I bled, I sweat and I fought to stop these folks coming in by way of that entrance,” Gonell stated in the course of the interview. “We bought pushed again all the best way to the magnetometer by the second door. And simply to regain that house took us about one other hour. We actually have been preventing inch by inch. And to maneuver one step, that was a 10-minute, 15-minute ordeal.”MPD Officer Daniel HodgesHodges’ wrestle with the pro-Trump rioters turned probably the most well-known scenes from the revolt. A couple of days after the assault, harrowing footage emerged displaying him crushed in a doorway between an enormous press of rioters and the police line, writhing and screaming in ache. The video reveals one of many rioters grabbing at Hodges’ helmet and attempting to tear it off.In latest weeks, the Justice Division launched a number of new movies from this skirmish, which unfolded in a tunnel close to the still-unfinished staging space for Biden’s inauguration. The Justice Division made the clips public solely after CNN and different shops sued for entry.The footage was a part of the prison circumstances towards a number of folks accused of taking part within the assault on police within the tunnel space. One man, Patrick McCaughey, was particularly charged with assaulting Hodges with a stolen police protect and grabbing his helmet. He pleaded not responsible.

The Home Choose Committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault will hear testimony Tuesday from 4 cops who have been on the entrance traces that day as rioters supporting then-President Donald Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in an try to cease lawmakers from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral win.

The listening to will mark the primary time the panel can have public testimony, and can kick-start its efforts to research the occasions on Jan. 6.

Commercial

The 4 officers testifying — D.C. Metropolitan Police Officers Daniel Hodges and Michael Fanone, plus Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Sgt. Aquilino Gonell — have shared their tales publicly earlier than, which embrace accounts of being crushed with a flagpole, being the goal of racist slurs, being crushed in a door and being tased by the rioters.

Throughout Tuesday’s listening to the officers will once more describe what they skilled on Jan. 6, in response to a supply acquainted with their plans, who informed CNN that the testimony will probably be “fairly vivid” at occasions.

The witnesses will even increase questions for the committee to contemplate, stemming from how officers are nonetheless grappling with the bodily and psychological wounds they endured greater than six months in the past and the care that they’re, or will not be, receiving, the supply added.

That is what we all know concerning the 4 officers who’re set to testify:

MPD Officer Michael Fanone

Of the a whole bunch of cops who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, none have grow to be extra outspoken than Fanone. He has met with lawmakers, publicly supported the creation of a bipartisan fee and slammed Republicans who whitewashed the violence of that day.

CNN exclusively obtained Fanone’s body-worn digital camera footage, which reveals how he was pulled into the gang, crushed with a flagpole and repeatedly tased along with his personal Taser. Rioters stole his badge and grabbed at his service gun. When rioters stated they need to “kill him along with his personal gun,” Fanone pleaded with the mob and informed them, “I’ve youngsters,” in response to the video.

4 folks have been charged in reference to the assault, together with one man who’s accused of utilizing the Taser. Fanone misplaced consciousness, suffered a coronary heart assault and was hospitalized after the clashes, in response to courtroom filings. The defendants have pleaded not responsible and are in jail whereas awaiting trial. Prosecutors have stated they’re making ready plea offers for a few of them.

“I need folks to know the importance of Jan. 6. I need folks to know that, you understand, hundreds of rioters got here to the Capitol hell-bent on violence and destruction and homicide,” Fanone beforehand informed CNN.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn

Dunn has repeatedly spoken out about how he and his fellow Black officers are nonetheless grappling with their harrowing expertise on Jan. 6, once they endured racist assaults from insurrectionists throughout an assault on the U.S. Capitol.

“The Black officer wrestle was totally different as in, like I stated, we fought towards not simply folks that have been, that hated what we represented, however they hate our pores and skin colour additionally,” Dunn informed CNN’s Don Lemon throughout a March interview. “That is only a truth, they usually used these phrases to show that. They confirmed that they hated us they usually hated our pores and skin colour.”

Flags, indicators and symbols of racist, white supremacist and extremist teams have been displayed together with Trump 2023 banners and American flags on the riot. Black officers performed a key function in defending lawmakers in the course of the assault.

Dunn is the one Black officer scheduled to seem earlier than the committee on Tuesday.

Final week, Fox Information host Tucker Carlson sought to undermine Dunn’s credibility, claiming with out proof that he “is an indignant, left-wing political activist.”

“Dunn will fake to talk for the nation’s legislation enforcement group, nevertheless it seems Dunn has little or no in widespread along with your common cop,” Carlson stated on his present.

The feedback prompted an instantaneous response from Dunn’s attorneys.

“Tonight Fox Information allowed its host Tucker Carlson, who has not served a day in uniform, whether or not army or legislation enforcement, to criticize the heroism and repair of African-American U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn,” attorneys David H. Laufman and Mark S. Zaid stated in an announcement following the section.

“Our shopper has served 13 years in legislation enforcement and on January 6, 2023, fought towards an insurrectionist violent crowd — little doubt a lot of them Carlson’s supporters — to guard the lives of our elected officers, together with Vice President Pence,” they wrote.

U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell

Gonell was crushed with a flagpole whereas defending the Capitol on Jan. 6. His hand was sliced open. And he was hit with a lot chemical spray that the liquid soaked by way of to his pores and skin.

Throughout intense hand-to-hand fight with rioters on the west entrance of the Capitol, there have been moments the place Gonell thought he would possibly die.

“They referred to as us traitors. They beat us. They dragged us,” Gonell informed CNN final month in his first interview concerning the violence he had skilled and witnessed. “And I may hear them, ‘We will shoot you. We will kill you. You are selecting your paycheck over the nation. You are a shame. You are a traitor.'”

Gonell stated the FBI has requested him to view video of the assault to assist establish the rioters. It is nonetheless tough for him to look at footage of the occasions, he stated throughout the identical interview, having to relive the battles he fought whereas he was beneath assault.

He nonetheless has a vivid reminiscence of what he confronted: of the pepper spray that pressured him and different officers from the entrance line, of the American flag poles, rocks and even guardrails pried from the inaugural stage that have been used to assault officers, and of the wrestle to maintain the flood of insurrectionists from forcing their manner by way of the door he was guarding.

“I bled, I sweat and I fought to stop these folks coming in by way of that entrance,” Gonell stated in the course of the interview. “We bought pushed again all the best way to the magnetometer by the second door. And simply to regain that house took us about one other hour. We actually have been preventing inch by inch. And to maneuver one step, that was a 10-minute, 15-minute ordeal.”

MPD Officer Daniel Hodges

Hodges’ wrestle with the pro-Trump rioters turned probably the most well-known scenes from the revolt. A couple of days after the assault, harrowing footage emerged displaying him crushed in a doorway between an enormous press of rioters and the police line, writhing and screaming in ache. The video reveals one of many rioters grabbing at Hodges’ helmet and attempting to tear it off.

In latest weeks, the Justice Division launched a number of new movies from this skirmish, which unfolded in a tunnel close to the still-unfinished staging space for Biden’s inauguration. The Justice Division made the clips public solely after CNN and different shops sued for entry.

The footage was a part of the prison circumstances towards a number of folks accused of taking part within the assault on police within the tunnel space. One man, Patrick McCaughey, was particularly charged with assaulting Hodges with a stolen police protect and grabbing his helmet. He pleaded not responsible.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

93  −  84  =