Police recount mayhem and 'attempted coup' in U.S. Capitol riot

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Four police officers on Tuesday told lawmakers they were beaten, taunted with racial insults, heard threats including “kill him with his own gun” and thought they might die as they struggled to defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 against a mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters.

Often tearful, sometimes profane, the officers called the rioters “terrorists” engaged in an “attempted coup” during a 3-1/2 hour congressional hearing in which they also criticized Republican lawmakers who have sought to downplay the attack.

“I feel like I went to hell and back to protect the people in this room,” said District of Columbia police officer Michael Fanone, referring to lawmakers. “The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful,” Fanone added, slamming his hand onto the witness table.

It was a dramatic first hearing for a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee formed despite opposition by Trump’s fellow Republicans to investigate the worst violence at the Capitol since the British invasion in the War of 1812.

Some Democrats have suggested Trump, who made an incendiary speech to supporters before the riot repeating false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud, be called to testify. The officers recounted how rioters fought on Trump’s behalf, seeking to prevent Congress from formally certifying now-President Joe Biden’s election victory.

“He himself helped create this monstrosity,” Capitol Police Officer Aquilino Gonell said of Trump as he described rioters wielding weapons including police shields, batons, sledgehammers, flag poles, Taser devices, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, broken table legs and metal guard rails.

The officers urged lawmakers to determine what happened, including whether Trump or others helped instigate it.

“There was an attack carried out on Jan. 6, and a hit man sent them. I want you to get to the bottom of that,” Capitol police officer Harry Dunn said.

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Republican panel member Liz Cheney warned against “whitewashing” a riot in which more than 535 people now face criminal charges, even as Trump allies portray the panel as politically motivated.

Cheney, stripped of her House Republican leadership post after denouncing Trump’s election falsehoods, said she hopes the nation does not become so blinded by partisanship that “we throw away the miracle” of American democracy.

The committee, expected to explore questions about how the riot was organized and financed as well as law enforcement’s lack of preparedness, heard the most detailed public account to date of what police encountered during the rampage. More than a hundred officers were injured by the hundreds of rioters.

Fanone said he was pulled into the crowd, beaten, shocked repeatedly with a Taser, robbed of his badge and knocked unconscious, suffering a heart attack. Fanone said he heard a rioter say “kill him with his own gun.”

‘MEDIEVAL BATTLEFIELD’

“What we were subjected to that day was like something from a medieval battlefield,” Gonell said.

Dunn, who is Black, said rioters repeatedly called him a racial slur. Dunn said he challenged their claims that no one had voted for Biden by telling them that he had done so.

Gonell, a naturalized American citizen born in the Dominican Republican who served in the U.S. Army in Iraq, recalled rioters calling him a traitor who should be executed. Gonell said he thought to himself, “This is how I’m going to die.”

Washington officer Daniel Hodges called the rioters “terrorists,” citing the term’s legal definition. He said they told him: “You will die on your knees!”

Hodges said many rioters appeared to be white nationalists. While his Black and Hispanic colleagues faced racial slurs, Hodges, who is white, said rioters tried to recruit him, asking, “Are you my brother?”

The rioters sent lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence scrambling for safety. Four people died on Jan. 6, including one rioter shot by police and three others who experienced medical emergencies. A policeman who was attacked by rioters died the following day. Two others later committed suicide.

“Some people are trying to deny what happened, to whitewash it, to turn the insurrectionists into martyrs,” Thompson said. “And all of it for a vile, vile lie.”

Democrats created the panel after congressional Republicans blocked formation of an independent bipartisan commission to investigate the riot. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy acted to prevent fellow Republicans from joining the panel after Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to seat two of his choices amid concerns they would undermine its integrity. Two Republicans picked by Pelosi are serving.

The Senate on Tuesday inched closer to approving around $900 million in emergency aid to bolster Capitol police funding and establish a “quick-reaction force” to respond to any future attacks, among other things.

During the hearing, Democrat Stephanie Murphy asked Hodges what he was fighting for as he confronted the rioters.

“Democracy,” Hodges replied.

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