After Tuesday’s hearing of the House committee investigating the January riot at the Capitol, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger — who only recently took on his present position — spoke out in support of the officers who testified. At the hearing, Capitol Police personnel including Sgt. Aquilino Gonell and officer Harry Dunn were present, testifying alongside D.C. Metropolitan Police officers Daniel Hodges and Michael Fanone. All four of the officers participated in the defense of the Capitol on January 6, and all four of them faced attacks in various forms by the Trump supporters who were present that day.
Through its very existence, Manger’s statement implicitly shames the Republicans who have opted to pretend as though what took place wasn’t actually all that worrisome. More directly, Manger also laid out the foundational seriousness of what’s at stake, saying that he was “proud” of those who “fought… to preserve our democracy.” As Manger pointedly put it:
‘I am proud of the officers who had the courage to share their stories in front of the House Select Committee and our entire country to describe the horrors and heroism on January 6. I am equally proud of everyone in this Department and our partner agencies who fought like hell to preserve our democracy.’
Check out his statement below:
— U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) July 27, 2021
Contrary to attempts by certain prominent Republicans to gloss over the reality of what happened, the violence perpetrated against law enforcement personnel was devastating. Fanone was dragged, beaten, and repeatedly tased on his head, suffering a heart attack in connection to his injuries. Gonell, meanwhile, has explained how at one point during the violence he felt as though he was going to be trampled to death by the riot crowd. As he put it, describing the moment: “I could feel myself losing oxygen and recall thinking to myself, ‘This is how I’m going to die, trampled defending this entrance.'”
Following the hearing, prominent right-wingers like Fox host Laura Ingraham swiftly began criticizing what unfolded to the point that Ingraham held a mock awards ceremony for the officers who testified, characterizing the hearing as a “performance.” Ingraham’s behavior is just pathetic — she and the other Fox hosts who behave similarly act with glaring self-importance, but they’re not some harbingers of truth. They’re just the latest run-of-the-mill contrarians in a long line of similarly vindictive ignoramuses. It’s all pathetically petty nonsense.
Why is Laura Ingraham disrespecting the police?
And why are no Republicans calling her out on her mocking of law enforcement who risked their lives on January 6? https://t.co/32PQZWPIdb
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) July 28, 2021
