Officers who defended Capitol fight falsehoods
Trump’s 2020 claims spur Biden support
WASHINGTON — Former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is mostly recovered from the assaults he endured from Donald Trump’s supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. But not completely. His shoulder still has limited endurance and there are screws and a metal plate holding his right foot together after bone fusion surgery.
Emotional recovery has been more difficult. Gonell struggled when he heard that former Trump visited Capitol Hill last month and received what he called a “hero’s welcome” from the Republican lawmakers Gonell had protected that day, and when Trump falsely told millions of viewers in last week’s debate that many of the violent rioters, his supporters, “were ushered in by the police.”
Trump’s Capitol Hill visit was a “triggering mechanism for my PTSD,” says Gonell, who retired from the force in 2022 due to his injuries and has recently participated in several campaign events for President Joe Biden. “We did what we had to do to keep those elected officials safe, and instead of siding with us, the officers, they have sided with a person who put their lives at risk.”
Three and a half years after the Capitol attack, Trump still falsely claims the 2020 election was stolen. He has promised that if he wins the presidency again he will pardon his supporters who violently beat police and broke into the Capitol to try and overturn the legitimate results.
To counter the misinformation, Gonell and two of his fellow officers who were there that day are working with Biden’s campaign, attending events in swing states to try and make sure that voters don’t forget.
Along with former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges and Gonell are telling audiences about what they went through that day and trying to lay out the contrast between Biden and Trump. It’s an unusual transition for law enforcement officers who once protected members of Congress and are used to keeping their political views to themselves.
“I’m really an introvert, and I’m not someone to seek a microphone or an audience,” Hodges says. “But I’m in this unique position where people will listen to what I say about an important issue. So I feel a moral obligation to do so.”
At recent events in Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, they stood with local officials and said that Trump is a danger to the country after trying to overturn Biden’s legitimate election.
The officers have also aggressively pushed back on Trump’s comments at the CNN debate in June, where he said that there were a “relatively small” group of protesters and that the police let them enter the Capitol. More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot, and police were bloodied and injured — some seriously — as they struggled to prevent more from getting in.
Dunn, who recently lost his own bid for a congressional seat in Maryland, said after the debate that Trump’s comments were “a slap in the face, but it’s what we have come to expect from Donald Trump.”
And the officers said they are still supporting Biden, even after he failed to push back on many of Trump’s claims about Jan. 6 and received widespread criticism for his weak showing at the debate.
“He could have been a little more forceful, but I’ll take the person who doesn’t send a mob to kill me and my colleagues over the other person,” said Gonell, who published a book last year about his experience. “Every single day I’m reminded of that horrible day. Every time I put my shoes on, I see my scar.”
Meanwhile, earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ordered the early release from prison of a Georgia attorney convicted of a felony during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
William Mccall Calhoun, an attorney in Americus, was sentenced in August to 18 months in prison following his conviction on felony obstruction of an official proceeding and four misdemeanors related to his role in the riot. But last week the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion that cut across ideological lines, ruled that the U.S. Department of Justice erred in applying the obstruction charge to Capitol rioters.
Friedrich ordered Calhoun ”be released forthwith pending appeal” of his conviction. Federal prosecutors did not object to the release.
Also, Brian Healion, 34, a former member of the Philadelphia Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol, apologized for his actions as he was sentenced to 100 days behind bars Tuesday — far less than what prosecutors had sought.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J.
Kelly said he viewed Healion’s association with the Proud Boys as “relevant only on the margins” when it came to determining his punishment.