U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who helped defend the Capitol against rampaging Trumpers last year, was among those paying close attention to this Thursday’s public hearing of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot. On Twitter the day after the hearing, he sharply criticized those downplaying what took place.
“All the platitudes from those proclaiming that “they are pro police” “thanks to the brave men and women of Capitol police” pro “Law and Order” and the “Rule of Law” all while denying J6 happened when you took part in planning or assaulting officers,” Gonell remarked. “It is impossible to have two stances on what happened on January 6.” He later added: “Capitol Police officers did not [storm] the U.S Capitol. We protected it. On J6 We didn’t give out tickets to “a parade”, to a “picket line”, to “a tour” or [breach] multiple barriers to get inside the building. Your “Dust-up” moment, your “patriots”, Your political discourse” participants, your “political prisoners” attacked, assaulted and injured Police Officers in full Police Uniform. You defend the indefensible.”
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who was actually originally selected by House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to serve on the riot investigation committee but never ended up doing so, was among those in Congress perhaps most critical of the riot investigation committee’s operations in connection to this Thursday’s hearing. “They’re going to get the sobbing police officer or sobbing Democrat or somebody that said how terrible this was and now they’re suffering from PTSD,” Nehls said of the riot panel. “They’re going to put on a show for the American people.”
Would Nehls like Americans to just ignore the fact that many, many police officers were violently assaulted by rampaging Trump supporters trying to stop the Congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election outcome from taking place? Nehls is obviously among those more openly just straightforwardly galling in their behavior.
Gonell also singled out Trump. “From 16 blocks away, [Trump] watched,” Gonell said. “For more the 5 hours HE DID NOTHING TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION. And threatened the next 3 people in line to the presidency—VP, The Speaker, and Senate Pro-Temp…the very existence of our country. Everyone in the Capitol were targeted.” According to prepared remarks this week from Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), then-President Trump “placed no call to any element of the U.S. government to instruct that the Capitol be defended. He did not call his Secretary of Defense on January 6th. He did not talk to his Attorney General. He did not talk to the Department of Homeland Security. President Trump gave no order to deploy the National Guard that day, and he made no effort to work with the Department of Justice to coordinate and deploy law enforcement assets.”
The details of what took place at the Capitol obviously depict a then-president engaged in a stunning and historical abandonment of the basic duties associated with his position. And yet: there has been no large-scale break with Trump within the Republican Party. One could reasonably expect that, if he follows through on his seemingly likely ambition to run for president again, he’ll win the Republican Party’s nomination. Sure, maybe not every single Republican backs Trump’s stolen election claims — Cheney, for one, obviously doesn’t — but a whole lot seem fine with essentially glossing over his attempts to turn the presidency into a wannabe authoritarian regime and ignore the will of the people. See some of Gonell’s posts about the matter below:
