Officer Michael Fanone described the trauma of the 1/6 attack, and called Republicans disgraceful and said they betrayed their oath of office.
Video:
Officer Michael Fanone raises his voice and pounds the table while telling Republicans that their minimizing of the attack and indifference shown to the police who protected them is disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/rUjTIFzYw4
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 27, 2021
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Fanone said at the first 1/6 Committee hearing:
At the hospital, doctors told me that I had suffered a heart attack and I  later was diagnosed with a concussion, a traumatic brain injury, and posttraumatic stress disorder. As my physical injuries gradually subsided and the adrenaline that had stayed with me for weeks waned, I have been left with the psychological trauma and the emotional anxiety of having survived such a horrific event.Â
My children continue to deal with the trauma of nearly losing their dad that day. What makes the struggle harder and more painful is to know so many of my fellow citizens, including so many of the people I put my life at risk to defend, are downplaying or outright denying what happened. I feel like I went to hell and back to protect them and the people in this room. But too many are telling me that hell doesn’t exist. Or that hell wasn’t actually that bad. The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful.Â
Fanone:Â Republicans Betrayed Their Oath Of Office
Officer Fanone says Republicans betrayed their oath of office by denying and minimizing the 1/6 attack. pic.twitter.com/9CPYgk9ziq
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 27, 2021
Officer Fanone said, “Being an officer, you know your life is at risk when you walk out the door. Even if you don’t expect otherwise law-abiding citizens to take up arms against you. 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, betrayed their oath of office. Those very members whose lives come offices, staff members I was trying so desperately to defend.”
The Republican Downplaying Of The 1/6 Attack Has Taken Center Stage At The Hearing
The police are making the Republican downplaying what they suffered a central issue of the hearing because one can’t hear the stories of how brave law enforcement officers fought to protect the Capitol without also hearing about how Republicans have tried to diminish and downplay what happened.
Fanone is right. The behavior of most Republicans has been disgraceful, and it deserves to be exposed on the nation’s largest political stage.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association