News
Cheney Questions Capitol and DC Metro Police Officers During House Select Committee Hearing
Published
3 years agoon
By
Ron Richter
The House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol held its first hearing Tuesday and Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming questioned members of the United States Capitol Police and the DC Metropolitan Police Department about their experiences that day. The following is part of an exchange between Representative Cheney and US Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell.
Sgt. Gonell, who was beaten with a flagpole and sprayed with chemical irritants, went on to testify that the people that attacked the Capitol on January 6 were supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
Along with Sgt. Gonell, others that testified at the hearing included DC Metropolitan Police Officers Daniel Hodges and Michael Fanone and Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. The full transcript is available below.
REP. LIZ CHENEY:Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And again, thank you to all of our witnesses for your heroism and your bravery that day and also for being here today and telling your story. I certainly join the Chairman and every member of this committee in our commitment to making sure we get to the truth and that those who did this are accountable.
Officer Gonell, I’d like to ask you — you describe in your testimony that it was — you said it was like a medieval battlefield and that what you were subjected to that day was something like a medieval battlefield. You said, “We fought hand-to-hand and inch-by-inch to prevent an invasion of the Capitol by a violent mob, intent on subverting our democratic process.” And is it the case that as you were fighting there, you were not aware that the Capitol had been breached elsewhere? I believe you said that you really thought that you were the last line of defense, is that right?
USCP SERGEANT AQUILINO GONELL:That is correct.
REP. CHENEY:And so, Officer Gonell, when you think about that and share with us the vivid memory of the cruelty and the violence of the assault that day, and then you hear former President Trump say: “It was a loving crowd. There was a lot of love in the crowd.” How does that make you feel?
USCP SERGEANT GONELL: It’s upsetting. It is a pathetic excuse for his behavior, for something that he himself helped to create this monstrosity. I’m still recovering from those ‘hugs and kisses’ that day — that he claimed that so many rioters, terrorists, were assaulting us that day. If that was ‘hugs and kisses,’ then we should all go to his house and do the same thing to him. To me, it’s insulting, it’s demoralizing because everything that we did was to prevent everyone in the Capitol from getting hurt. And what he was doing, instead of sending the military, instead of sending the support or telling his people, his supporters, to stop this nonsense, he egged them to continue fighting. I was in the lower west terrace fighting alongside these officers, and all of them, all of them, were telling us, “Trump sent us.” Nobody else – there was nobody else. It was not Antifa. It was not Black Lives Matter. It was not the FBI. It was his supporters that he sent them over to the Capitol that day, and he could have done a lot of things. One of them was to tell them to stop. He talked about sacrificing. Sacrifices were not — the only thing that he has sacrificed is the institutions of the country. In the country itself, only for his ego, because he wants to continue– He wants the job, but he doesn’t want to do the job, and that’s a shame on him and himself.
REP. CHENEY:Thank you. Officer Fanone, you talked in your testimony about the fact that the line that day was the seat of American democracy, was the seat of our government. Can you talk about — as you think now about what was under threat — first of all, you have a sense at the time as you were going through the battle before the horrific violence happened to you, of the nature of the gravity of the threat that we were facing, that the line was, in fact, the seat of American democracy?
MPD OFFICER MICHAEL FANONE:Well, my response to that day really was based off of my obligation as a police officer to not only protect the lives of the Members of Congress and their staff, but also to my fellow officers. The politics of that day really didn’t play into my response at all.
REP. CHENEY:Thank you. Officer Hodges, in your testimony you talk about when you were at the Ellipse and you mentioned the significant number of men dressed in tactical gear attending the gathering — wearing ballistic vests, helmet, goggles. When you saw that, was that something that you had anticipated at all? And could you just tell us more about that crowd there at the Ellipse, the extent to which you saw people who clearly were in military or paramilitary garb?
MPD OFFICER DANIEL HODGES:It was absolutely a source of concern. Like I said, they had outer carrier vests designed to carry ballistic shielding, helmets, goggles, face masks, backpacks filled with unknown objects. And I couldn’t get a count and we couldn’t stop and search everyone, but so I don’t know how many there were. But I know that it was obviously a concern of mine.
REP. CHENEY:Thank you very much. And then finally, Officer Dunn, you mentioned the text message that you received, and you expressed some surprise — you mentioned that you had not seen any intelligence that would have led you to believe that we should expect that kind of violence. Can you elaborate on that a little bit?
USCP PRIVATE FIRST CLASS HARRY DUNN:Yes, ma’am. We were expecting civil disobedience, as we do at the Capitol. At least that was what was relayed to us — a couple arrests, name calling, you know, unfriendly people, but nowhere near the level of violence or even close to it, like we experienced. When I received the text message, it made the hairs on my neck rise, but since our chain of command had not told us to prepare for any of these levels of violence, I was like, “Okay, whatever.” I’ve been here, I started year fourteen in November and have dealt with hundreds of protests where people get arrested and for peaceful First Amendment protests, everybody has the right to protest. Okay, do what you do and, you know, we’ll arrest you if you break the law and we’ll go home later that night. It was a lot different than that, but I was not alerted to the level of violence like — the text messages I got foreshadowed that looking back, but we were not prepared for what we faced that day.
REP. CHENEY:Thank you. And Mr. Chairman, without objection, I would like to ask unanimous consent if we could enter that complete text message into the record.
CHAIRMAN BENNIE THOMPSON: Without objection, so ordered.
REP. CHENEY: Thank you. And again, I would just like to express my deep gratitude for what you all did to save us, and it won’t be forgotten, and we will get to the bottom of this. Thank you very much. And with that, I yield back.
Mark Steingass
July 27, 2021 at 5:16 pm
HOLY MOLEY!!!…Her political challengers are tripping over each other to run against her!!…Wonder how the independent voters feel about her re-election?….Guess we’ll find out…lol
ray olson
July 27, 2021 at 5:29 pm
One good deed does not a saint make. But. it’s still a good deed.
Neil Schiche (Conservative Republican)
July 27, 2021 at 7:30 pm
Thank you Representative Cheney for
serving on the Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on our Capitol orchestrated by Trump.
Please interview our military joint Chief’s that believed that Trump was a threat to our Constitution. Furthermore, they were concerned that Trump was using Hitler like tactics to poison American’s with lies and attempt a military coup to help him stay in power.
Scott Thomas
July 28, 2021 at 9:28 am
Neil-if you are so justice-driven and unbiased, why aren’t you and those like you pushing an equal, wide-sweeping investigation and subsequent prosecution of those who caused tens of millions of dollars in damage (as well as injuries and death) during the so-called “social justice” looting and rioting? The disparity in the administration of “justice” is sickening. I do not condone attacking the capital, but the frustration of the American people in dealing with politicians creating and forwarding their own agenda is growing daily. We have a government of prostitutes who do not serve the people and will attempt to stay in power at all costs. Cheney deserves no praise. She is just another pox on the political landscape and needs to be removed.
Neil Schiche
July 28, 2021 at 10:14 am
Scott. We are talking about the insurrection against our country, and the people responsible, including Trump.
All main stream American’s are against rioters that burn our cities, people who attack police, individuals that attack our Capitol and threaten our Constitution, or encourage or participate in these acts.
We need to investigate and prosecute ALL of these acts!
Scott Thomas
July 28, 2021 at 10:39 am
But we are not. And that is a fact. I don’t believe the riot at the capital was an attack against our country. I think it was an ill-planned act of frustration born out of the growing disconnect between the will of the people and the agenda of elected officials. Why aren’t we pushing equally as hard to round up the anarchists’ and felonious vandals? Well-its pretty simple. It’s because you have a large crop of politicians and social organizers (who align the voters of their demographic with those politicians), pursuing the furtherment of their REAL agenda, under the guise of justice for all. They have a deep-rooted hatred for the roots of this country and the social organizers have a dystopian fantasy of a country where the minority rules and socialism prevails. The liberal politicians simply want to continue to stay in power and grow their wealth by fueling the race-baiting that has served them so well. IF we are going to start hanging people-lets make sure we use one standard.
Terry Moore
July 28, 2021 at 1:35 pm
As usual, your comments are without merit or sources. Local, state, and federal investigations are going on in Oregon, as to what happened last year, but you don’t want to know that?
140 police were injured at the US Capitol on January 6, per the police union. Many “frustrated” domestic terrorists were yelling, “hang Mike Pence”, a number took dumps and peed on the floors, some smeared feces on the walls. Many used poles, with the American flag, to assault and commit vandalism. These are facts.
Does your mom know you’ve snuck out of the basement again?
Mak Kells
July 28, 2021 at 1:46 pm
No one has been charged with insurrection.
How can there be an insurrection when no one arrested has been charged with that.
Wishing it so doesn’t make it so.
Terry Moore
July 28, 2021 at 2:29 pm
I guess if you want to split hairs, you’re right, 591 domestic terrorists have been charged with crimes, pertaining to the Insurrection on the Capitol, as of 27/7/2021
Charles Cole
July 28, 2021 at 12:31 pm
Why isn’t Cheney (not to even mention Pelosi and the Dems) interested in investigating the violent rioting and looting of the leftwing lunatics from last summer? Same reason they’re so opposed to scientific (forensic) audits in the swing states where the 2020 election was stolen. When these people say “justice” it’s akin to Stalin’s guaranteeing “democratic” elections in post WWII Poland (occupied by the Red Army). Exactly the same logic.
Mark Steingass
July 29, 2021 at 5:39 pm
heck yes…i see no reason the GOP can’t create their own investigation into those riots…why haven’t they done so by now?…get to the bottom of it…i personally would like to know who organized those riots and specifically how many flat screen TV’s and Chia Pets were pilfered…as for Jan 6…thank God some whacko with a gun didn’t take elected representatives hostage and execute
Mitch Smith
July 27, 2021 at 10:30 pm
Swamp Child might be a little biased? This Virginia democrat needs to go home, she isnt Wyoming………
MIKE DUNCAN
July 28, 2021 at 5:54 am
I hope the good people of wyoming have the sense to dump this RINO next time around
Mak Kells
July 28, 2021 at 9:45 am
Her and her ilks idea of public service is putting a “for sale” sign on the country and enriching themselves… the electorate is just a inconvenient group of rubes they have to pay lip service too… send her packing Wyoming!