Former Capitol Police Officer Doubts Republican Legislators Would ‘Have My Back’ If There Was Another Jan. 6 | Video
On MSNBC’s “All In” on Friday, former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell told guest host Jason Johnson that he wasn’t happy with the positive reception Republicans gave to Donald Trump when he returned to Washington, D.C. this week.
“It was very disappointing — all the sacrifices that we did on Jan. 6 to keep all those same members, that yesterday applauded and greeted the former president as if he did something great at the Capitol,” Gonell said.
Gonell wrote the book “American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy,” telling his story after being beaten by rioters using a flagpole on Jan. 6, 2021. He added that it seemed as if Republican members of Congress don’t remember how they felt during the Capitol riot.
“They were running for their lives, and they seem to forget how fearful they were running for their lives on that day,” Gonell said. “It’s stunning that instead of giving the police officers that type of reception, they have chosen to give that to the former president — the same guy who put their lives and our lives at risk.”
He concluded that Republicans in the House and Senate aren’t upholding their responsibilities to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
“Unfortunately, you can’t depend on the Republican elected officials any longer to defend the Constitution, or democracy, because they only have fealty for one person, and that person is Donald Trump,” Gonell said.
Johnson then described the scene with legislators welcoming back Trump as “infuriating” and called them “cowards.” Gonell agreed that it makes it difficult for his friends still working for the Capitol Police to do their work.
He added that the events of Jan. 6 also cost him his career because he could no longer trust the people he was protecting.
“When I was still in the process of recovering, I had this struggle in my mind: what if there’s another Jan. 6? Are the Republican elected officials going to have my back or help me to close the doors, or do I have to watch the threat in front of me and them behind me?” Gonell asked.
Gonell didn’t think he could continue doing his job in the neutral, impartial way he had always done it, especially when it came to making split-second decisions that could cost someone their life.
“We did our job. We protected both elected officials, both from Republicans and Democrats, the same. I protected your elected officials just the same way I protected Marjorie Taylor Greene, or AOC, or Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer — we don’t care,” Gonell said. “I can only wonder how the officers felt yesterday, because it bothers me and I wasn’t even there. And instead of holding him accountable for it, instead of shunning him and denouncing him, they have chosen him, to welcome him as a hero.”
“What was so great about an attack on the Capitol?” Gonell asked. “And offering pardons for the same people — blanket pardons for the rioters who attacked the police officers?”
Gonell further criticized the idea of Trump once again becoming the nation’s leader.
“He wants people to stand at attention, like a dictator, flirting with authoritarianism. And you have the whole backing of the Republican Party?” Gonell said, incredulous. “That’s not Ronald Reagan’s party anymore.”
You can watch Aquilino Gonell’s full interview with “All In” guest host Jason Jordan in the video at the top of this story.
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