Legitimating violence and terrorism

 

It was the blindness of the conservative Right to the dangers which had been so evident, arising from their determination to eliminate democracy and destroy socialism and the consequent governmental stalemate they had allowed to develop, that delivered the power of a national state containing all the pent-up aggression of a wounded giant into the hands of the dangerous leader of a political gangster mob.

Ian Kershaw, Hitler, 1889:1936: Hubris (Norton, 1998), p. 424.

 

Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: “Too late.”

Martin Luther King, Jr., Beyond Vietnam speech, Riverside Church, New York City, April 4, 1967

 

Dear friends:

Yesterday’s Resolution of the Republican National Committee crossed a terrifying threshold.

For the first time since the Civil War, the national committee representing a major political party in the United States publicly sanctioned mob violence as “legitimate political discourse” and described Congressional efforts to investigate domestic terrorism as “persecution of ordinary citizens.”  This resolution followed statements by former President Trump that, should he be reelected in 2024, he would pardon those convicted of crimes related to the events of January 6, 2021.

Yesterday’s resolution demands three actions from all citizens:

First, we must take it very seriously.  It would be a grave error to disregard it or dismiss the consequences that follow.

Second, we must review the facts and fiercely adhere to the truth.

Third, after reviewing and understanding the facts, we must take the action necessary to protect our democracy through organized nonviolence.

Here, then, is a brief statement of facts:

Between the time of his electoral loss and the inauguration of the victorious candidate, the former U.S. President initiated and carried out a multifaceted strategic campaign to overthrow the results of a democratic election in order to re-install himself in power in violation of the law and the Constitution.

“We won and we won big,” he proclaimed, ceaselessly repeating the falsehood that the election had been “stolen” from him through corruption, fraud and malfeasance on a vast scale.  The mass dissemination of this lie energized his base, eventually becoming a litmus test for Republican party loyalty, as it is today.  Propaganda alone was insufficient to prevent the transfer of power to the Biden Administration.  Rather, it provided the ideological basis for the coup attempt, which proceeded according to a series of stratagems and crimes.

Legal stratagems included an effort to force Republican legislatures to initiate recounts and attempts to undermine the election results through litigation claiming fraud.  The recounts confirmed the Biden victory in each case, and the lawsuits were summarily rejected by Federal judges, including those who had been appointed by President Trump.

Illegal and unconstitutional stratagems included intense political pressure on Republican state officials responsible for electoral confirmation to change their vote counts; extortion of at least one state election official to simply “find the votes” required; efforts to throw the Electoral College; and instructions to Vice President Pence to announce a Trump victory in the final Congressional vote confirmation.  This conspiracy was thwarted because of the integrity and courage of a handful of Republican Secretaries of State responsible for confirming electors in threshold states who took their oaths of office seriously and refused to perjure themselves, and because Vice President Pence refused to violate the law and Constitution at Trump’s bidding.

Because of research conducted by the House Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol, we now know that the Trump Administration had developed plans to order U.S. military forces to seize voting machines in battleground states.

Frustrated by his failure to invalidate Biden’s victory and seize power by any of these methods, Trump proceeded to Plan B: an attempt to effectuate a putsch through incitement of mob violence.  In a last-ditch effort, President Donald Trump mobilized his followers to pressure, threaten, and intimidate Vice President Mike Pence and Senators who refused to support the coup, understanding that the unleashed rage of the mob, including many armed participants, could have led to the assassination of Pence, Congresspersons and police officers defending the Capitol.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia, “approximately 140 police officers were assaulted Jan. 6 at the Capitol including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.” As of January 6, 2022, one year after the attack on the Capitol, “more than 225 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including over 75 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.”  The FBI has set up a “U.S. Capitol Violence” investigation task force “seeking the public’s assistance in identifying individuals who made unlawful entry into the U.S. Capitol building and committed various other alleged criminal violations, such as destruction of property, assaulting law enforcement personnel, targeting members of the media for assault, and other unlawful conduct, on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.”

As reported by the Washington Post, “Assembled in the crowd were a range of far-right groups, including self-described militias, white nationalists, and sundry conspiracists and agitators.” White supremacist groups and anti-government militia organizations with members participating in the attack included The Proud Boys (“a far-right group with a history of violence and a reputation for instigating roving street fights with counter-demonstrators”), The Three Percenters (“a right-wing anti-government militia group”), The Oath Keepers (“one of the largest self-described anti-government militia groups in the United States, focused on recruiting law enforcement and active or former military members”), the “Groyper Army” (a racist and anti-Semitic group), and others including the Boogaloo Bois and Neo-Nazis.

Trump incited the mob to attack the Capitol to prevent Congress from recording the votes of the Electoral College and confirming the victory of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.  The violence forced an emergency recess during which Vice President Pence was escorted out of the building in time to prevent his assassination.  When lawmakers returned to perform its certification, normally a perfunctory process, 147 Republicans voted to overturn the election (eight senators and 139 representatives).

With this factual background, I urge you to read the following two excerpted documents set out below: the February 4, 2022, Republican National Committee Resolution (Document 1), and the July 27, 2021 transcript of the House January 6th Select Committee (Document 2).

These documents are dire warnings.  Read in juxtaposition, they evoke the immense and grave danger we face as a democratic republic at this moment in our nation’s history.

I urge you to take the time to read these documents, excerpted below.

Read them as citizens.

When historians read them as evidence, it will be too late.

Jonathan D. Greenberg

Document 1:

Resolution of the Republican National Committee, February 4, 2022 (excerpts):

RESOLUTION TO FORMALLY CENSURE LIZ CHENEY AND ADAM KINZIGER AND TO NO LONGER SUPPORT THEM AS MEMBERS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

WHEREAS, the primary mission of the Republican Party is to elect Republicans who support the United States Constitution and share our values;

WHEREAS, The Biden Administration and Democrats in Congress have embarked on a systematic effort to replace liberty with socialism, eliminate border security in favor of lawless, open borders; create record inflation designed to steal the American dream for our children and grandchildren; neuter our national defense and a peace through strength foreign policy; replace President Trump’s “Operation Warp Speed” with incompetence and illegal mandates; and destroy Amerca’s economy with the Green New Deal…

WHEREAS Representatives [Liz] Cheney and [Adam] Kinzinger have engaged in actions in their positions as members of the January 6th Select Committee not befitting Republican members of Congress…

WHEREAS, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger purport to be members of the Republican Party; and

WHEREAS, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse, and they are both utilizing their past professed political affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Republican National Committee hereby formally censures Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and shall immediately cease any and all support of them as members of the Republican Party for their behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and the republic, and is inconsistent with the position of this Conference.

 

Document 2:

Transcript of the January 6th Select Committee, House of Representatives, July 27, 2021 (excerpts)

Representative Bennie G. Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee:

So we’re going to see some of what our witnesses saw on January 6th. Let’s see the video please, but please be advised that it contains graphic images and strong language, which many may find disturbing…

Speaker 28:
Can I speak to Pelosi. Yeah? We’re coming, bitch. Oh, Mike Pence, we’re coming for you too, fucking traitor.

Speaker 29:
Hang Mike Pence. Hang Mike Pence. Hang Mike Pence. Hang Mike Pence.

Speaker 30:
They’ve got the gallows set up outside the Capitol Building. It’s time to start fucking using them.

Speaker 6:
Start making a list. Put all those names down, and we start hunting them down one by one.

Speaker 31:
Traitors get guillotine.

Speaker 6:
Mobilize in your own cities, your own counties, storm your own Capitol buildings and take down every one of these corrupt motherfuckers.

Speaker 32:
That’s what we fucking need to have, 30,000 guns up here.

Speaker 33:
Next trip.

Chairman Thompson:

He’ll be back, he warns us. It’s just chilling.

I thank God for our Democracy and our Republic withstood this assault, but that man’s warning reminds us that this threat hasn’t gone away. It looms over our democracy like a dark cloud.

Some people are trying to deny what happened, to whitewash it, to turn the insurrectionists into martyrs, but the whole world saw the reality of what happened on January 6th, the hangman’s gallows sitting out there on our nation’s mall, the flag of that first failed and disgraced rebellion against our union being paraded through the Capitol, the hatred, the bigotry, the violence, and all of it for a vile, vile lie…

My distinguished colleague from Wyoming, Ms. Cheney, is not the ranking member of this select committee, but because this investigation is bipartisan, it’s important that we hear Republican voices as well. I now recognize Representative Cheney for an opening statement.

Representative Liz Cheney:

Thank you very much, Chairman Thompson, thank you to all my colleagues on this committee, and thank you to each of the witnesses appearing before us today. It is because of you, you held the line, you defended all of us, you defended the Capitol, and you defended the Constitution and our Republic, and every American owes you our undying gratitude. Every American, I hope will be able to hear your testimony today and will watch the videos. The videos show the unbelievable violence and the inexcusable and intolerable cruelty that you all faced. And people need to know the truth…

We cannot leave the violence of January 6th and its causes uninvestigated. The American people deserve the full and open testimony of every person with knowledge of the planning and preparation for January 6th….

Honorable men and women have an obligation to step forward. If those responsible are not held accountable and if Congress does not act responsibly, this will remain a cancer on our Constitutional Republic, undermining the peaceful transfer of power at the heart of our democratic system. We will face the threat of more violence in the months to come and another January 6th every four years.

I have been a conservative Republican since 1984 when I first voted for Ronald Reagan. I’ve disagreed sharply on policy and politics with almost every Democratic member of this committee. But in the end, we are one nation under God. The framers of our Constitution recognized the danger of the vicious factionalism of partisan politics, and they knew that our daily arguments could become so fierce that we might lose track of our most important obligation, to defend the rule of law and the freedom of all Americans. That is why our framers compelled each of us to swear a solemn oath to preserve and protect the Constitution. When a threat to our constitutional order arises, as it has here, we are obligated to rise above politics. This investigation must be nonpartisan.

While we begin today by taking the public testimony of these four heroic men, we must also realize that the task of this committee will require persistence. We must issue and enforce subpoenas promptly. We must get to objective truth. We must overcome the many efforts we are already seeing to cover up and obscure the facts.

On January 6th and in the days thereafter, almost all members of my party recognized the events of that day for what they actually were. One Republican for example said, quote, “What is happening at the US Capitol right now is unacceptable and un-American. Those participating in lawlessness and violence must be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” No member of Congress should now attempt to defend the indefensible, obstruct this investigation or whitewash what happened that day. We must act with honor and duty and in the interest of our nation.

America is great because we preserve our democratic institutions at all costs. Until January 6th, we were proof positive for the world that a nation conceived in liberty could long endure, but now January 6th threatens our most sacred legacy.

The question for every one of us who serves in Congress, for every elected official across this great nation, indeed for every American, is this. Will we adhere to the rule of law? Will we respect the rulings of our courts? Will we preserve the peaceful transition of power? Or will we be so blinded by partisanship that we throw away the miracle of America? Do we hate our political adversaries more than we love our country and revere our Constitution? I pray that that is not the case.

I pray that we all remember, our children are watching. As we carry out this solemn and sacred duty entrusted to us, our children will know who stood for truth, and they will inherit the nation we hand to them, a Republic if we can keep it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.

Introduction of the witnesses by Chairman Thompson

Thank you, Representative Cheney. I will now introduce our witnesses. We’re joined today by Sergeant Aquilino Gonell of the United States Capitol Police. He’s a 15 year veteran of the Capitol Police. He’s assigned to a first responder unit in the United States Capitol Police’s uniformed services bureau. Before joining the Capitol Police, Sergeant Gonell served as eight years in the United States Army and spent 545 days in Iraq, where his base was under constant mortar, rocket and indirect fire by insurgents. He’s received multiple awards and commendations for his military service.

We also are joined by Officer Michael Fanone of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC. Officer Fanone began his law enforcement career with the United States Capitol Police shortly after the terrorist attack of 9/11. For nearly 20 years, Officer Fanone has served the citizens of the District of Columbia in special units focusing on narcotics investigation and violent criminals.

Officer Daniel Hodges is a member of the civil disturbance unit 42 in the DC Metropolitan Police Department, where his responsibilities include riot response. Prior to his service on the Metropolitan Police Department, he served six years in the 116th infantry regiment third battalion as an indirect fire infantryman.

US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn is a 13 year veteran of the United States Capitol Police and a member of its first responder unit. His responsibilities include ensuring the integrity of the perimeter around the Capitol Building. Officer Dunn has been among the first Capitol Police Officers to describe what happened to law enforcement on January 6th.

I will now swear in our witnesses.

Testimony of Sergeant Aquilino Gonell of the United States Capitol Police.

…I heard specific threats to the lives of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and then also Vice President Mike Pence. But the physical violence we experienced was horrific and devastating. My fellow officers and I were punched, kicked, shoved, sprayed with chemical irritants. And he’d been blinded with eye damaging lasers by a violent mob, who apparently saw us law enforcement officer dedicated to ironically protecting them as US citizens as an impediment to their attempted insurrection.

The mob brought weapons to try to accomplish their insurrectionist objectives, and used them against us. These weapons included hammers, rebars, knives, baton and police shields taken by force, as well as bear spray and pepper spray.

Some of the rioters wore tactical gear, including bulletproof vests in gas masks. A rioter also forcibly took out batons and shields to use them against us. I was particularly shocked at the scene, the insurrectionist violently attacked us with the very American flag that they claimed to serve to protect.

Based on the coordinated attacks that we observed and the verbal commands we heard, it appears that many of these attackers had law enforcement or military experience.

The rioters were vicious and relentless.

We found ourselves in a violent battle, desperate to attempt to prevent a breach of the Capitol by the entrance near the inauguration stage.

Metropolitan Police Officers were being pulled into the crowd.

…What we were subjected that day was like something from a Medieval battle. We [fought] hand to hand, inch by inch to prevent an invasion of the Capitol by a violent mob intent on subverting our democratic process. My fellow officers and I were committed to not letting any rioters breach the Capitol. It was a prolonged and desperate struggle. The rioters attempted to breach the Capitol were shouting, “Trump sent us. Take the right side. We want Trump.”

I bitterly heard officers screaming in agony and pain, just an arm length from me. I didn’t know at that time, but that was Officer Hodges. He’s here today to testify. I too was being crushed by the rioters. I could feel myself losing oxygen and recall thinking to myself, this is how I’m going to die, defending this entrance.

Many of the officers fighting alongside me were calling for shields because their shields had been stripped from them by the rioters. I was one of the few officers left with a shield, so I spent a majority of my time at the front of the line.

I later find out that my wife and relatives were here in the US and abroad, were frantically calling and texting me from 2:00 PM onward because they were watching the turmoil on television. It was now 4:26 PM. After giving CPR to one of the rioters who breached the Capitol in an effort to save her life, that I finally had a chance to let my own family know that I was alive.

After order had finally been restored at the Capitol and many hours, I arrived at home at nearly 4:00 AM on January 7th. I had to push my wife away from me because she wanted to hug me. I told her no because of all the chemicals my uniform had on. I’m sorry.I couldn’t sleep because the chemical reactivated after I took a shower and my skin was burning…

More than six months later, I’m still trying to recover from my injuries.

Many of my fellow Capital officers, as well as MPD officers suffered several physical injuries from the violence inflicted on us on January 6th. I sustained injuries on both my hands, my left shoulder, my left calf and my right foot. I already have undergone bone fusion surgery on my right foot, and I was just told that I need surgery on my left shoulder. I’ve been on medical and administrative leave for much of the past six months, and I expect to need further rehabilitation for possibly more than a year.

There are some who express outrage when someone kneels while calling for social justice. Where are those same people expressing the outrage to condemn the violent attack on law enforcement at the Capitol in our American democracy? I’m still waiting for them. As America and the world watched in horror what was at the Capitol, we did not receive timely reinforcement and support we needed. In contrast, during the Black Lives Matter protests last year, US Capitol Police had all the support we needed and more. Why the different response?

Were it not for the brave members of the MPD and later on from other law enforcement agencies, I’m afraid to think what could have happened on January 6th. I want to publicly thank all the law enforcement agencies that responded to assess that day, for their courage and their support. I especially want to thank those Capitol Police Officers who responded on their own from home after working midnight a shift. Despite being outnumbered, we did our job. Every member of the House of Representatives, Senators and staff members made it home. Sadly as a result of that day, we lost officers, some really good officers, but we held the line to protect our democratic process because the alternative would have been a disaster…

For most people, January 6th happened for a few hours, but for those of us who were in the thick of it, it has not ended. That day continues to be a constant trauma for us literally every day, whether because our physical or emotional injuries or both. Why [it] has not received much attention, sadly many of my colleagues have quietly resigned from the Capitol because of that day…

And to be honest, physical therapy is painful and hard. I could have lost my life that day, not once but many times. But as soon as I recover from my injuries, I will continue forward and proudly serve my country in the US Capitol Police. As an immigrant to the United States, I’m especially proud to have defended the US Constitution and our democracy on January 6th. I hope that everyone in the position of authority in our country has the courage and conviction to do their part by investigating what happened on that terrible day and why. This investigation is essential to our democracy, and I’m deeply grateful to you for undertaking. I’m happy to assist as I can and answer any question you may have to the best of my ability. Thank you.

Testimony of Officer Michael Fanone of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC

…I have spent the majority of my nearly 20 years as a Metropolitan Police Officer working in special mission units whose responsibilities include the investigation and arrest of narcotics traffickers and violent criminals…

Yet what I witnessed and experienced on January 6th, 2021 was unlike anything I had ever seen, anything I had ever experienced or could have imagined in my country. On that day, I participated in the defense of the United States Capitol from an armed mob, an armed mob of thousands, determined to get inside.

Because I was among the vastly outnumbered group of law enforcement officers protecting the Capitol and the people inside it, I was grabbed, beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country.

I was at risk of being stripped of and killed with my own firearm, as I heard chants of, ” Kill him with his own gun.” I could still hear those words in my head today. Although I regularly deal with risky situations on the job, nowhere in my wildest imagination did I ever expect to be in that situation or sitting here before you talking about it. That experience and its aftermath were something that not even my extensive law enforcement training could prepare me for…

The fighting in the lower west terrace tunnel was nothing short of brutal. Here, I observed approximately 30 police officers standing shoulder to shoulder, maybe four or five abreast, using the weight of their bodies to hold back the onslaught of violent attackers. Many of these officers were injured, bleeding, and fatigued, but they continued to hold the line…

At some point during the fighting, I was dragged from the line of officers and into the crowd. I heard someone screaming, ” I got one.” As I was swarmed by a violent mob, they ripped off my badge. They grabbed and stripped me of my radio. They seized ammunition that was secured to my body. They began to beat me with their fists and with what felt like hard metal objects. At one point, I came face-to-face with an attacker who repeatedly lunged for me and attempted to remove my firearm. I heard chanting from some in the crowd, “Get his gun and kill him with his own gun.”

I was aware enough to recognize I was at risk of being stripped of and killed with my own firearm. I was electrocuted again and again and again with a taser. I’m sure I was screaming, but I don’t think I could even hear my own voice.

My body camera captured the violence of the crowd directed toward me during those very frightening moments. It’s an important part of the record for this committee’s investigation and for the country’s understanding of how I was assaulted and nearly killed as the mob attacked the Capitol that day, and I hope that everyone will be able to watch it. The portions of the video I’ve seen remained extremely painful for me to watch at times, but it is essential that everyone understands what really happened that tragic day.

During those moments, I remember thinking there was a very good chance I would be torn apart or shot to death with my own weapon. I thought of my four daughters who might lose their dad. I remain grateful that no member of Congress had to go through the violent assault that I experienced that day…

At the hospital, doctors told me that I had suffered a heart attack, and I was later diagnosed with a concussion, a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

As my physical injuries gradually subsided and the adrenaline that had stayed with me for weeks waned, I’ve been left with the psychological trauma and the emotional anxiety of having survived such a horrific event, and my children continue to deal with the trauma of nearly losing their dad that day.

I look forward to the committee’s investigation and I am hopeful with your commitment, we as a country will confront the truth of what happened on January 6th and do what is necessary to make sure this institution of our democracy never falls into the hands of a violent and angry mob.

We must also recognize the officers who responded that day, many unsolicited, and their countless acts of bravery and selflessness.

It has been 202 days since 850 MPD Officers responded to the Capitol and helped stop a violent insurrection from taking over this Capitol complex, which almost certainly saved countless members of Congress and their staff from injury and possibly death. The time to fully recognize these officers is now. Thank you again for the opportunity to provide my testimony here today.

Testimony of Officer Daniel Hodges:

There were a significant number of men dressed in tactical gear attending the gathering, wearing ballistic vests, helmets, goggles, military face masks, backpacks, and without identifiable visible law enforcement or military patches… Two of my colleagues were approached by a group of three to four such men. They were white men in good shape with load bearing vests equipped with MOLLE pouches. They were wearing BDUs, or battle dress uniform pants, tactical boots, black sunglasses, and short haircuts. They had radios and one was equipped with an earpiece….

The last thing I remember hearing over the air before departing for the Capitol grounds was confirmation that our explosive ordinance disposal team had discovered a device.

We gave our gear a final check, and marched towards the West Terrace… A woman called us stormtroopers. Another women who was part of the mob of terrorists laying siege to the Capitol of United States shouted, “Traitors.” More found appeal in this label, and shouted, “Traitors,” at us as we passed.

However, as we came close to the terrace, our line was divided and we came under attack. A man attempted to rip the baton from my hands, and we wrestled for control. I retained my weapon after I pushed him back. He yelled at me, “You’re on the wrong team.” …Another takes a different tac, shouting, “You will die on your knees.”…

Around this time, one of the terrorists who had scaled the scaffolding that adorned the Capitol at the time threw something heavy down at me and struck me in the head, disorienting me. I suspect this resulted in the likely concussion I dealt with in the weeks after.

Another man attempted to disarm me of my baton, and again, we wrestled for control.  He kicked me in my chest as we went to the ground… The crowd started chanting, “USA,” at us, and we struck out again for the West Terrace.

I led the charge through the midst of crowd control munitions, explosions, and smoke engulfing the area. Terrorists were breaking apart the middle fencing and bike racks into individual pieces, presumably to use as weapons…

The sea of people was punctuated throughout by flags, mostly variations of American flags and Trump flags. There was Gadson flags. It was clear the terrorists perceived themselves to be Christians. I saw the Christian flag directly to my front. Another read, “Jesus is my savior. Trump is my president.” Another, “Jesus is king.” One flag read, “Don’t give up the ship.” Another had crossed rifles beneath a skull, emblazoned with the pattern of the American flag. To my perpetual confusion, I saw the thin blue line flag, the symbol of support for law enforcement, more than once being carried by the terrorists as they ignored our commands and continued to assault us. The acrid sting of CS gas or tear gas and OC spray, which is mace, hung in the air as the terrorists threw our own CS gas canisters back at us, and sprayed us with their own OC either they bought themselves or stole from us. Later, I learned at least one of them was spraying us in the face with wasp spray…

Terrorists pushed through the line and engaged us in hand-to-hand combat. Several attempted to knock me over and steal my baton. One latched onto my face, and got his thumb in my right eye, attempting to gouge it out. I cried out in pain and managed to shake him off, managed to shake him off before any permanent damage was done.

I couldn’t fully engage anyone, for the moment I do is when another 20 terrorists move in to attack while my hands are full. It was all we could do to keep ourselves on our feet and continue to fall back. I was sprayed with a fire extinguisher, and a red smoke grenade burns at our feet…

At the time, I, and I suspect many others in the hallway, did not know that the terrorists had gained entry into the building by breaking in doors and windows elsewhere, so we believed ours to be the last line of defense before the terrorists had true access to the building, and to potentially our elected representatives.

Eventually, it was my turn in the meat grinder that was the front line. The terrorists had a wall of shields that they had stolen from officers as well as stolen batons, what other armaments they brought…

On my left was a man with a clear riot shield stolen during the assault. He slammed it against me, and with all the weight of the bodies pushing behind him, trapped me. My arms were pinned and effectively useless, trapped against either the shield on my left or the doorframe on my right. With my posture granting me no functional strength or freedom of movement, I was effectively defenseless, and gradually sustaining injury from the increasing pressure of the mob.

Directly in front of me, a man seized the opportunity of my vulnerability, grabbed the front of my gas mask, and used it to beat my head against the door. He switched to pulling it off my head, the strap stretching against my skull and straining my neck. He never uttered any words I recognized, but opted instead for guttural screams.

I remember him foaming at the mouth. He also put his cell phone in his mouth so that had both hands free to assault me. Eventually, he succeeded in stripping away my gas mask, and a new rush of exposure to CS and OC spray hit me.

The mob of terrorists were coordinating their efforts now, shouting, “Heave, ho,” as they synchronized pushing their weight forward, crushing me further against the metal doorframe. The man in front of me grabbed my baton that I still held in my hands, and in my current state, I was unable to retain my weapon. He bashed me in the head and face with it, rupturing my lip, and adding additional injury to my skull.

At this point, I knew I couldn’t sustain much more damage and remain upright. At best, I would collapse and be a liability to my colleagues. At worst, be dragged out into the crowd and lynched. Unable to move or otherwise signal the officers behind me that I needed to fall back, I did the only thing that I could do, and screamed for help. Thankfully, my voice was heard over the cacophony of yells and the blaring alarm. The officer closest to me was able to extricate me from my position, and another helped me fall back to the building again.

Those who needed immediate medical attention took a van to the local hospital, while the rest of us parked near the city center until the city was deemed secure enough for us to check off. I believe we finally got that message around 1:00 AM the following morning…

Testimony of US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn

Before I begin, I’d like to take a moment of my time to ask for a moment of silence for my fallen colleague, Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries he sustained in the line of duty defending the Capitol of our beloved democracy…

I reported for duty at the Capitol as usual early on the morning of January 6th. We understood that the vote that certified President Biden’s election will be taking place that day, and protests might occur outside the Capitol, but we expected any demonstrations to be peaceful expressions of First Amendment freedoms, just like the scores of demonstrations we had observed for many years…

[A]t around 10:56 AM, I received a text message from a friend forwarding a screenshot of what appeared to be the potential plan of action, very different from a peaceful demonstration. The screenshot bore the caption, “January 6th, rally point Lincoln Park,” and said the objective was the Capitol.  It said amongst other things that Trump has given us marching orders, and to keep your guns hidden. It urged people to bring your trauma kits and gas mask, to link up early in the day in 6 to 12-man teams. It indicated there would be time to arm up…

Now it was obvious that there was a direct threat to the Capitol, I quickly put on a steel chest plate which weighs approximately 20 pounds, and carrying my M4 rifle, sprinted around the north side of the Capitol to the West Terrace and the railing of the inaugural stage, where I had a broad view of what was going on. I was stunned by what I saw.

In what seemed like a sea of people, Capitol Police officers and Metropolitan Police officers, MPD, were engaged in desperate hand-to-hand fighting with rioters across the west lawn. Until then, I had never seen anyone physically assault Capitol Police or MPD, let alone witness mass assaults being perpetrated on law enforcement officers.

I witnessed the rioters using all kinds of weapons against officers, including flagpoles, metal bike racks that they had torn apart, and various kinds of projectiles.

Officers were being bloodied in the fighting. Many were screaming, and many were blinded and coughing from chemical irritants being sprayed in their faces…

I took off running upstairs towards the Speaker’s Lobby, and helped the plain clothes officer who was getting hassled by insurrectionists. Some of them were dressed like members of a militia group, wearing tactical vests, cargo pants, and body armor. I was physically exhausted, and it was hard to breathe and to see because of all the chemical spray in the air.

More and more insurrectionists were pouring into the area by the Speaker’s Lobby near the Rotunda, and some wearing MAGA hats and shirts that said, “Trump 2020.” I told them to just leave the Capitol, and in response they yelled, “No, man, this is our house. President Trump invited us here. We’re here to stop the steal. Joe Biden is not the president. Nobody voted for Joe Biden.”

I’m a law enforcement officer, and I do my best to keep politics out of my job, but in this circumstance I responded, “Well, I voted for Joe Biden. Does my vote not count? Am I nobody?” That prompted a torrent of racial epithets. One woman in a pink MAGA shirt yelled, “You hear that guys? This nigger voted for Joe Biden.” Then the crowd, perhaps around 20 people, joined in screaming, “Boo, fucking nigger.” No one had ever, ever called me a nigger while wearing the uniform of a Capitol Police officer.

In the days following the attempted insurrection, other Black officers shared with me their own stories of racial abuse on January 6th.

One officer told me he had never, in his entire 40 years of life been called a nigger to his face, and that streak ended on January 6th, yet another Black officer later told me he had been confronted by insurrectionists in the Capitol who told him, “Put your gun down and we’ll show you what kind of nigger you really are.”…

I’ve had to avail myself of multiple counseling sessions from the Capitol Police Employee Assistance Program, and I’m now receiving private counseling therapy for the persistent emotional trauma of that day. I’ve also participated in many peer support programs with fellow law enforcement officers from around the United States.  I know so many other officers continue to hurt, both physically and emotionally.

Representative 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 would just like to express my deep gratitude for what you all did to save us and won’t be forgotten and we will get to the bottom of this. Thank you very much.