Congressional Capitol Riot Hearing Opens With Emotional Accounts From Police
The the Jan. 6 House Select Committee held its first hearings Tuesday, opening with emotional testimony from Capitol police who recounted being beaten, having racial slurs thrown at them and believing they might die.
Officer Michael Fanone, who has been making regular media appearances since the deadly Capitol riot in an effort to bring attention to what happened that day, said, "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."
Officers testified Tuesday that there were numerous pro-law enforcement flags in the crowd of rioters, who supported then-President Donald Trump and breached the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of President Joe Biden's election win. Officer Harry Dunn noted that he'd never been called the N-word while he was in uniform before, but that changed on Jan. 6. Dunn said he was called the slur repeatedly that day.
Fanone banged on the table when he railed against GOP lawmakers who have since downplayed the riot, which left five dead. He pointed out that the lawmakers who have downplayed the breach were among those whom he and his colleagues were protecting that day.
"The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful!” he said. “Being an officer, you know your life is at risk whenever you walk out the door, but nothing - truly, nothing - has prepared me to address those elected members of our government who continue to deny the events of that day, and in doing so, betray their oath of office.”
Officer Daniel Hodges testified that rioters told him his mother was "a whore" and said he would die on his knees.
Watch Dunn above, via CNN.
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