During an appearance on CNN’s New Day this week, D.C. police officer Michael Fanone — who participated in the defense of the Capitol against rioting Trump supporters on January 6 and was brutally injured in the process — shamed Republican members of Congress who he characterized as “betraying their oath” of office. Recently, Fanone encountered Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) at the Capitol, and Fanone also addressed this interaction during his time on CNN. Clyde ludicrously compared the Capitol riot to a “normal tourist visit.”
As Fanone explained it, he’d previously tried to meet with the Congressman at his Capitol office, and after that endeavor was unsuccessful, Fanone unexpectedly encountered Clyde elsewhere on the Capitol premises. Fanone — who was with another officer — introduced himself to the Congressman and extended his hand, but Clyde refused to even shake his hand. That’s the staggeringly low level to which certain GOP members of Congress have sunk.
Fanone observed on CNN as follows:
‘I think a lot of times, these lawmakers on Capitol Hill, they feel like they could say whatever they want, and they’re never gonna be held accountable for those words. Your words have consequences, Congressman — your lying about what happened on January 6, and I’m gonna be there to confront anyone who lies about January 6. I’m not here to make this a political issue; it just so happens that one party is lying about what thousands of officers experienced that day on Capitol Hill. I’m gonna confront anyone that lies about that day because while these members [of Congress] are betraying their oath, thousands of D.C. police officers and U.S. Capitol police officers were fulfilling their oath and continue to do so every day.’
Watch below:
“I’m going to confront anyone that lies” about Jan. 6, says DC police officer Michael Fanone.
“While these members are betraying their oath, thousands of … police officers were fulfilling their oath and continue to do so every day.” https://t.co/G0Yex2zofW pic.twitter.com/Q4Pt5vfOIR— New Day (@NewDay) June 17, 2021
Although Clyde isn’t exactly the most well-known Republican on Capitol Hill, others in the party with an even higher profile have also spread lies about what happened on January 6. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), for instance, has claimed that there “was no violence on the Senate side, in terms of the chamber,” which is not accurate.
Incredibly, Johnson claimed during a more recent appearance on Fox that individuals at the Capitol that day “weren’t rioting,” although some 140 police officers were injured after getting violently physically assaulted by openly murderous Trump supporters. Injuries that officers suffered included a stab wound from a metal fence stake. Fanone himself was beaten and repeatedly tased. And Johnson has the gall to dispute characterizing what happened as a “riot”? Seriously? Trump supporters violently forced their way into the building and were trying to personally access top government leaders. They climbed up walls and through windows. None of these facts suggest anything like a “normal tourist visit”!
