Former D.C. officer on Jan. 6 comes to Ohio to talk Trump
Rioters who overran the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, beat then-d.c. police officer Michael Fanone unconscious with their fists and pipes, stunned him with his own Taser repeatedly, sprayed him in the face with a chemical irritant and tried to take his gun.
Fanone suffered a traumatic brain injury and a heart attack at 40 years old. He’s one of more than 140 officers injured that day when a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters attempted to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.
Fanone has testified to Congress about his story, and now he’s come to Ohio as part of a nationwide tour. He wants to dispel any myths about the day being nonviolent or insignificant.
Fanone said he’s concerned most Americans have become indifferent. He wants Americans to educate themselves about what led to the insurrection and reject politicians like Trump who advocate for violence. That’s why he is traveling around the country with Courage for America, a nonprofit group that opposes the “extremist” Republican majority in the U.S. House, and telling his story. He spoke with The Columbus Dispatch’s editorial board on Friday and his other stops in Ohio include speaking to an Ohio State University class.
“I’ve got four daughters. In a lot of ways, I feel as though my generation and generations that came before me are responsible for creating this mess. And so I’m gonna do everything that I can do to make sure that they don’t pay the price for the mistakes that I personally made and that my generation made,” Fanone said.
Fanone said he’s one of the “morons” who voted for Trump in 2016.
Besides educating people, Fanone wants to hold accountable politicians who continue to embrace anti-democratic rhetoric and election denialism.
“(Politicians and people who hold positions of authority) say things and people act based on the things they say,” Fanone said. He pointed to how an Ohioan with an Ar-15-style rifle tried to break into the FBI’S office in Cincinnati in 2022, a day after U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-urbana, denounced the FBI online.
“I wouldn’t rule out another storming of the Capitol. It might not be the United States Capitol, but it might be state capitols,” he said.
At least 67 Ohioans have been arrested and charged for their role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021. More than 50 have been convicted, with many getting probation sentences or less than a year of prison.
The Dispatch has reported on how many defendants from Ohio have blamed their actions in court on Trump and extremist propaganda they were fed by right-wing media.