US officer beaten by rioters condemns effort to ‘whitewash’ Capitol attack
A Washington police officer who was attacked by Trump-supporting rioters during the Capitol attack on 6 January has decried the efforts of some politicians and other public figures to “whitewash” and downplay the insurrection.
Michael Fanone, 40, gave an emotional interview with CNN on Tuesday night in which he laid bare the personal impact of having been engulfed in the baying crowd.
He was beaten with sticks and stun-gunned, and in the aftermath has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and what he called “psychological injuries”.
Fanone said that since the riot, it had been “very difficult seeing elected officials and other individuals whitewash the events of that day or downplay what happened. Some of the terminology that has been used, like ‘hugs and kisses’ and ‘very fine people’ – very different from what I experienced and what my co-workers experienced on the 6th.”
Though he did not mention the former president by name, Fanone was making a clear reference to Trump’s interview with Fox News last month in which he said the conflagration posed “zero threat”. Attempting an extreme makeover of history, Trump said of the rioters that “some of them went in, and they’re hugging and kissing the police and the guards, you know? They had great relationships.”
Asked what he thought of Trump’s remarks, Fanone said: “I think it’s dangerous. It’s very much not the experience I had on the 6th. I experienced a group of individuals that were trying to kill me to accomplish their goals.”
More than three months on, the Capitol insurrection still casts a shadow over Washington. Joe Biden is expected to discuss the attack and its lasting impact when he addresses a joint session of Congress for the first time as president on Wednesday, standing at the same podium in the House of Representatives that was defiled by rioters. The assault, and Trump’s efforts to diminish its anti-democratic and violent nature, where he encouraged supporters at a rally immediately prior to “fight” to stop Congress certifying Biden’s election victory, also continue to distort American politics.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, this week clung to his support for Trump and the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him – rhetoric that directly instigated the insurrection.
Adam Kinzinger, a congressman from Illinois who was one of only 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in February for “incitement of insurrection”, challenged McCarthy. Kinzinger posted on Twitter a clip of Fanone on CNN, along with the barbed comment that he was curious whether the Republican leader had “an opinion about this interview”.
Fanone was among a cordon of District of Columbia and Capitol police who were defending the edifice, where members of Congress were in session in both chambers, when Trump supporters ran amok.
Photos from 6 January show the officer entirely surrounded by protesters lunging at him with wooden clubs.
A video also captured him being pulled out of the building by the rioters and dragged down stairs.
“I thought it was a distinct possibility I would die,” he told Lemon. “They started attacking me from all directions. Guys ripped my badge off, ripped my radio off, started grabbing at my firearm. It was overwhelming.”