[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                       THE LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPERIENCE ON 
                                 JANUARY 6TH

=======================================================================


                                 HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                          SELECT COMMITTEE TO
                      INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6TH
                             ATTACK ON THE
                         UNITED STATES CAPITOL

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             JULY 27, 2021

                               __________

                            Serial No. 117-1

                               __________

Printed for the use of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 
                6th Attack on the United States Capitol
                                     

[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

                                     
        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

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                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
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 SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6TH ATTACK ON THE UNITED 
                             STATES CAPITOL

               Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, Chairman
                        Zoe Lofgren, California
                       Adam B. Schiff, California
                        Pete Aguilar, California
                          Liz Cheney, Wyoming
                      Stephanie N. Murphy, Florida
                         Jamie Raskin, Maryland
                       Elaine G. Luria, Virginia
                        Adam Kinzinger, Illinois


                            COMMITTEE STAFF

                    David B. Buckley, Staff Director
      Kristin L. Amerling, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
                  Hope Goins, Counsel to the Chairman
               Timothy R. Mulvey, Communications Director
         Candyce D. Phoenix, Senior Counsel and Senior Advisor
                           
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                               Statements

The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Select Committee 
  to Investigate the January 6th Attack On the United States 
  Capitol........................................................     1
The Honorable Liz Cheney, a Representative in Congress From the 
  State of Wyoming...............................................     4

                               Witnesses

Mr. Aquilino A. Gonell, Sergeant, U.S. Capitol Police............     6
Mr. Michael Fanone, Officer, Metropolitan Police Department......    10
Mr. Daniel Hodges, Officer, Metropolitan Police Department.......    14
Mr. Harry A. Dunn, Private First Class, U.S. Capitol Police......    20

                             For the Record

The Honorable Liz Cheney, a Representative in Congress From the 
  State of Wyoming:
  Text...........................................................    29
Mr. Aquilino A. Gonell, Sergeant, U.S. Capitol Police:
  Prepared Statement.............................................    55
Mr. Michael Fanone, Officer, Metropolitan Police Department:
  Prepared Statement.............................................    57
Mr. Daniel Hodges, Officer, Metropolitan Police Department:
  Prepared Statement.............................................    59
Mr. Harry A. Dunn, Private First Class, U.S. Capitol Police:
  Prepared Statement.............................................    63

 
             THE LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPERIENCE ON JANUARY 6TH

                              ----------                              


                         Tuesday, July 27, 2021

                     U.S. House of Representatives,
 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on 
                                 the United States Capitol,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:31 a.m., in 
Room 310, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Bennie G. Thompson 
[Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Thompson, Lofgren, Schiff, 
Aguilar, Cheney, Murphy, Raskin, Luria, and Kinzinger.
    Chairman Thompson. A quorum being present, the Select 
Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United 
States Capitol will be in order.
    The Select Committee is meeting today to receive testimony 
on ``The Law Enforcement Experience on January 6th.''
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare the 
Committee in recess at any time.
    I now recognize myself for an opening statement.
    Let me say a few words at the outset about this Committee's 
work and how, as Chairman, I plan to run things. We're going to 
be guided solely by the facts: the facts of what happened on 
January 6th, the run-up to that tragic day, and what has taken 
place since. That's what we're charged to do by House 
Resolution 503.
    There is no place for politics or partisanship in this 
investigation. Our only charge is to follow the facts where 
they lead us. While we have a lot to uncover, there are a few 
things we already know.
    We know that the insurrection on January 6th was a violent 
attack that involved vicious assaults on law enforcement. We 
know there is evidence of a coordinated, planned attack. We 
know that men and women who stormed the Capitol wanted to 
derail the peaceful transfer of power in this country. We know 
that 7 people lost their lives; that more than 140 police 
officers suffered injuries. We know that efforts to subvert our 
democracy are on-going. A major part of the Select Committee's 
work will be to find ways to eliminate that threat.
    We also know that the rioters came dangerously close to 
succeeding. If not for the heroism of the United States Capitol 
Police and the Metropolitan Police Department, many more lives 
might have been lost and the rioters could have accomplished 
what they set out to do: Upend American democracy.
    It's an honor to have four of these heroes sitting before 
us today. We welcome them for appearing here and, more 
importantly, for your heroism on January 6th. You have the 
gratitude of this Committee and this country.
    You held the line that day. I can't overstate what was on 
the line: our democracy. You held the line.
    We're going to revisit some of those moments today, and it 
won't be easy, but history will remember your names and your 
actions.
    It's important to think about history as this Committee 
starts its work and as we hear from these courageous men and to 
get answers for the American people; because we need to 
understand our history if we want to understand the 
significance of what happened on January 6th and our role as 
Members of the people's House.
    I'm talking about the peaceful transfer of power. Two 
hundred twenty years ago, in 1801, the House of Representatives 
did one of its jobs laid out in the Constitution. After a 
deadlock in the electoral college, this body cast 36 ballots 
and ultimately settled the contest for President of the United 
States. What followed was the first peaceful transfer of power 
in our country's history.
    We know that, since then, our history has been far from 
perfect. We've been torn apart and brought back together. We've 
struggled across generations to make our country's great vision 
a reality for all Americans. We've won victories, and we've 
suffered failures, but the peaceful transfer of power has stood 
as the pillar of our democracy.
    It's one of those things we rely on, a safeguard that we 
hold close, because, as heated and angry and divided as we may 
be, whatever victories we celebrate or upheavals we endure, we 
can rest easy knowing that, when the moment comes, our system 
guarantees that one party will hand the reins to another if 
that's the will of the people.
    While our institution's endured and while Joe Biden is the 
legitimately elected President of the United States, a peaceful 
transfer of power didn't happen this year. It did not happen.
    Let that sink in. Think about it.
    A violent mob was pointed toward the Capitol and told to 
win a ``trial by combat''. Some descended on this city with 
clear plans to disrupt our democracy. One rioter said that they 
weren't there to commit violence but that--I'm quoting--``We're 
just there to overthrow the Government.''
    I want to repeat that. I urge everyone to listen to those 
words and think about what they mean. ``We were just there to 
overthrow the Government.''
    They marched on the Capitol with the clear intentions of 
stopping the certification of the election. When they 
encountered the police sworn to keep us safe, they went on 
their attack with bear spray, knives, tasers, hockey sticks, 
even flagpoles fashioned into clubs with the American flag 
still attached.
    Those rioters breached the Capitol. They smashed windows, 
scaled walls, broke down doors, and invaded the Halls of 
Congress. It was a scene of violence in the citadel of our 
democracy not seen since 1814 when British soldiers sacked the 
building.
    They raced through the hallways chanting, ``Hang Mike 
Pence!'' ``Where is Nancy?''
    They stormed onto the Senate floor because they wanted to 
stop the Senate from certifying the election. The rioters tried 
to take over the House floor for the same reason.
    Thankfully, some astute, young staff members had the 
presence of mind to grab the physical electoral ballots for 
safekeeping.
    These rioters were organized. They were ready for a fight, 
and they came close to succeeding. It's frightening to think 
about how close we were: a few inches of wood and glass, an 
officer turning left instead of turning right. But just 
describing that attack doesn't come close to capturing what 
actually took place that day.
    So, we're going to see some of what our witnesses saw on 
January 6th. Let's see the video, please, but please be advised 
that it contains graphic images and strong language, which many 
may find disturbing.

    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Stop the Steal Zello Channel. Hey brother, we're boots on the 
ground here. We're moving on the Capitol now. I'll give you a boots-on-
the-ground update here in a few.
    Police Radio Transmission. Multiple Capitol injuries. Multiple 
Capitol injuries.
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Take the building! Take the building!
    Voice. Fuck you, police!
    Police Radio Transmission. 50 to JOCC, we're still taking metal, 
sharpened objects, missiles, to include bottles and rocks and hand-
thrown chemical-grade fireworks.
    Voice. There's an officer in the crowd.
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Police Radio Transmission.  . . . this is now effectively a riot.
    Police Radio Transmission. 1349 hours, declaring it a riot.
    Stop the Steal Zello Channel. OK, guys, apparently the tip of the 
spear has entered the Capitol Building.
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Police Radio Transmission. [redacted], if I give this up, they're 
going to have direct access. At least the scaffold we can defend. We've 
got to hold what we have.
    Voice. Take your pins off.
    Voice. What the fuck?
    Voice. Take your pins off.
    Crowd. [redacted] This is our house! [redacted]
    Voice. This is a corrupt government. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Is this the Senate? Where the fuck are they?
    Police Radio Transmission. Cruiser 50, we're flanked. 10-33. I 
repeat, 10-33, West Front of the Capitol. We have been flanked, and 
we've lost the line.
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Voice. They're coming, baby! They're coming, baby!
    Voice. Motherfuckers!
    Voice. They're spraying gas.
    Voice. Lock the shields. Lock them together. Lock them together.
    Voice. We need fresh patriots to the front!
    Voice. Back up if you need a break. Come on.
    Voice. He needs a break.
    Voice. Jimmy, get them to the back. Get them to the back. Get them 
to the back. Let's get some fresh faces up front.
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Push!
    Voice. All right. Let me out!
    Voice. Pull them out! Pull them out! Pull them out!
    Voice. Can I speak to Pelosi? Yeah? We're coming, bitch! Oh, Mike 
Pence? We're coming for you too, you fucking traitor!
    Crowd. Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!
    Stop the Steal Zello Channel. They've got the gallows set up 
outside the Capitol Building. It's time to start fucking using them.
    Voice. Start making a list, put all those names down, and we start 
hunting them down one-by-one.
    Voice. Traitors get guillotine!
    Voice. Mobilize in your own cities, in your own counties, storm 
your own capitol buildings, and take down every one of these corrupt 
motherfuckers!
    Voice. That's what we fucking need to have: 30,000 guns up here.
    Voice. Next trip.

    Chairman Thompson. He'll be back, he warns us. It's just 
chilling.
    I thank God our democracy and our Republic withstood this 
assault, but that man's warning reminds us that this threat 
hasn't gone away. It looms over our democracy like a dark 
cloud.
    Some people are trying to deny what happened, to whitewash 
it, to turn the insurrectionists into martyrs. But the whole 
world saw the reality of what happened on January 6th: the 
hangman's gallows sitting out there on our Nation's Mall, the 
flag of that first failed and disgraced rebellion against our 
Union being paraded through the Capitol, the hatred, the 
bigotry, the violence, and all of it for a vile, vile lie.
    Let's be clear. The rioters who tried to rob us of our 
democracy were propelled here by a lie.
    As Chairman of this Committee, I will not give that lie any 
fertile ground. We need to understand how and why the Big Lie 
festered. We need to know minute-by-minute how January 6th 
unfolded. We need to understand how the rotten lie behind 
January 6th has continued to spread and feed the forces that 
would undermine American democracy.
    We need to figure out how to fix the damage. It won't be 
easy, but I have tremendous confidence in the colleagues 
sitting to my left and right. These are men and women of 
courage and character.
    We did not ask for this, but the House of Representatives 
did its job to give this country its first peaceful transfer of 
power, and we'll do our job now to make sure the peaceful 
transfer of power remains a pillar of our democracy. We cannot 
allow ourselves to be undone by liars and cheaters. This is the 
United States of America.
    My distinguished colleague from Wyoming, Ms. Cheney, is not 
the Ranking Member of the Select Committee, but because this 
investigation is bipartisan, it's important that we hear 
Republican voices as well.
    I now recognize Representative Cheney for an opening 
statement.
    Ms. Cheney. Thank you very much, Chairman Thompson. Thank 
you to all my colleagues on this Committee, and thank you to 
each of the witnesses appearing before us today.
    It is because of you: You held the line. You defended all 
of us. You defended the Capitol, and you defended the 
Constitution and our Republic, and every American owes you our 
undying gratitude.
    Every American, I hope, will be able to hear your testimony 
today and will watch the videos. The videos show the 
unbelievable violence and the inexcusable and intolerable 
cruelty that you all faced, and people need to know the truth.
    I want to begin by reflecting briefly on the investigation 
that we're launching today. Every one of us here on the dais 
voted for and would have preferred that these matters be 
investigated by an independent, nonpartisan commission composed 
of 5 prominent Americans selected by each party and modeled on 
the 9/11 Commission.
    Although such a commission was opposed by my own leadership 
in the House, it overwhelmingly passed with the support of 35 
Republican Members. It was defeated by Republicans in the 
Senate. That leaves us where we are today.
    We cannot leave the violence of January 6th and its causes 
uninvestigated. The American people deserve the full and open 
testimony of every person with knowledge of the planning and 
preparation for January 6th. We must know what happened here at 
the Capitol.
    We must also know what happened every minute of that day in 
the White House: every phone call, every conversation, every 
meeting leading up to, during, and after the attack. Honorable 
men and women have an obligation to step forward.
    If those responsible are not held accountable, and if 
Congress does not act responsibly, this will remain a cancer on 
our Constitutional Republic, undermining the peaceful transfer 
of power at the heart of our democratic system. We will face 
the threat of more violence in the months to come and another 
January 6th every 4 years.
    I have been a conservative Republican since 1984 when I 
first voted for Ronald Reagan. I have disagreed sharply on 
policy and politics with almost every Democratic Member of this 
Committee. But, in the end, we are one Nation under God.
    The Framers of our Constitution recognized the danger of 
the vicious factionalism of partisan politics, and they knew 
that our daily arguments could become so fierce that we might 
lose track of our most important obligation: to defend the rule 
of law and the freedom of all Americans.
    That is why our Framers compelled each of us to swear a 
solemn oath to preserve and protect the Constitution. When a 
threat to our Constitutional order arises, as it has here, we 
are obligated to rise above politics. This investigation must 
be nonpartisan.
    While we begin today by taking the public testimony of 
these four heroic men, we must also realize that the task of 
this Committee will require persistence. We must issue and 
enforce subpoenas promptly. We must get to objective truth. We 
must overcome the many efforts we are already seeing to cover 
up and obscure the facts.
    On January 6th and in the days thereafter, almost all 
Members of my party recognized the events of that day for what 
they actually were. One Republican, for example, said, ``What 
is happening at the U.S. Capitol right now is unacceptable and 
un-American. Those participating in lawlessness and violence 
must be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the 
law.''
    No Member of Congress should now attempt to defend the 
indefensible, obstruct this investigation, or whitewash what 
happened that day. We must act with honor and duty and in the 
interest of our Nation.
    America is great because we preserve our democratic 
institutions at all costs. Until January 6th, we were proof 
positive for the world that a Nation conceived in liberty could 
long endure. But now January 6th threatens our most sacred 
legacy.
    The question for every one of us who serves in Congress, 
for every elected official across this great Nation, indeed for 
every American, is this: Will we adhere to the rule of law? 
Will we respect the rulings of our courts? Will we preserve the 
peaceful transition of power? Or will we be so blinded by 
partisanship that we throw away the miracle of America? Do we 
hate our political adversaries more than we love our country 
and revere our Constitution?
    I pray that that is not the case. I pray that we all 
remember our children are watching. As we carry out this solemn 
and sacred duty entrusted to us, our children will know who 
stood for truth, and they will inherit the Nation we hand to 
them--a republic, if we can keep it.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you, Representative Cheney.
    I will now introduce our witnesses.
    We're joined today by Sergeant Aquilino Gonell of the 
United States Capitol Police. He's a 15-year veteran of the 
Capitol Police. He's assigned to a First Responder Unit in the 
United States Capitol Police's Uniformed Services Bureau.
    Before joining the Capitol Police, Sergeant Gonell served 8 
years in the United States Army and spent 545 days in Iraq, 
where his base was under constant mortar, rocket, and indirect 
fire by insurgents. He has received multiple awards and 
commendations for his military service.
    We're also joined by Officer Michael Fanone of the 
Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC. Officer 
Fanone began his law enforcement career with the United States 
Capitol Police shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
    For nearly 20 years, Officer Fanone has served the citizens 
of the District of Columbia in special units focusing on 
narcotics investigations and violent criminals.
    Officer Daniel Hodges is a member of Civil Disturbance Unit 
42 in the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, where his 
responsibilities include riot response.
    Prior to his service on the Metropolitan Police Department, 
he served 6 years in the 116th Infantry Regiment, 3d Battalion, 
as an indirect fire infantryman.
    U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn is a 13-year veteran 
of the United States Capitol Police and a member of its First 
Responder Unit. His responsibilities include ensuring the 
integrity of the perimeter around the Capitol Building. Officer 
Dunn has been among the first Capitol Police Officers to 
describe what happened to law enforcement on January 6th.
    I will now swear in our witnesses. The witnesses will 
please rise and raise their right hands.
    [Witnesses sworn.]
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you. You may be seated.
    Let the record reflect the witnesses answered in the 
affirmative.
    Without objection, the witnesses' full statements will be 
included in the record.
    I now recognize Sergeant Gonell to summarize his testimony.
    Sergeant Gonell. \1\ Good morning, everybody.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Sergeant Gonell's prepared statement is included in the 
Appendix beginning on p. 55.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Chairman Thompson. Good morning.
    Sergeant Gonell. Chairman Thompson, Members of the Select 
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding 
the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
    It is with honor and heavy heart that I come before you to 
tell you my story, from a painful, first-hand experience what 
happened that terrible day at the Capitol.
    I'm providing this testimony solely in my personal capacity 
and not as a representative of the U.S. Capitol Police. It is 
imperative that the events of January 6th are fully 
investigated in the Congress and the American people know the 
truth of what actually occurred and that all those responsible 
are held accountable, particularly to ensure that horrific and 
shameful event in our history never repeats itself. I applaud 
you for pursuing this objective.
    Even though there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, 
including hours and hours of videos and photographic coverage, 
there is a continued, shocking attempt to ignore or try to 
destroy the truth of what truly happened that day and to 
whitewash the facts into something other than what they 
unmistakenly reveal: an attack on our democracy by violent 
domestic extremists and a stain on our history and our moral 
standing here, home, and abroad.
    As a child in the Dominican Republic, I looked up to the 
United States as the land of opportunity and a place to better 
myself. From the moment I landed at JFK in 1992, I have tried 
to pursue that goal. Thankfully, I achieved that goal on many 
levels. I was the first in my family to graduate college, join 
the Army, and become a police officer.
    On July 23, 1999, the day before my 21st birthday, I raised 
my hand and swore to protect the Constitution of the United 
States because this country gave me an opportunity to become 
anything that I wanted.
    At that time, I already started basic training with the 
Army Reserves. In fact, I raised my hand several times in 
ceremonies to pledge my commitment to defend and protect the 
Constitution of the United States: when I joined the Army 
Reserves; when I was promoted to sergeant while in the Army; 
during my naturalization ceremony; my reenlistment in the Army; 
when I joined the United States Capitol Police; and, last, when 
I was promoted to sergeant 3 years ago.
    I have always taken my oath seriously. On January 6, 2021, 
I fulfilled my oath once more, this time to defend the United 
States Capitol and Members of Congress carrying out their 
Constitutional duties to certify the results of the November 
2020 Presidential election.
    To be honest, I did not recognize my fellow citizens who 
stormed the Capitol on January 6th or the United States that 
they claimed to represent. When I was 25 years old and then a 
sergeant in the Army, I had deployed to Iraq for Operation 
Iraqi Freedom. From time to time, I volunteered to travel on 
IED-infested roads to conduct supply missions for U.S. and 
allied forces and local Iraqi population as well. But, on 
January 6th, for the first time, I was more afraid to work at 
the Capitol than my entire deployment to Iraq.
    In Iraq, we expected armed violence because we were in a 
war zone, but nothing in my experience in the Army or as a law 
enforcement officer prepared me for what we confronted on 
January 6th. The verbal assaults and disrespect we endured from 
the rioters were bad enough. I was falsely accused of betraying 
my oath, of choosing my paycheck--choosing my paycheck--over my 
loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, even as I defended the very 
democratic process that protected everyone in the hostile 
crowd.
    While I was at the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol 
working with my fellow officers to prevent the breach and 
restore order, the rioters called me a traitor, a disgrace, and 
shouted that I--I, an Army veteran and a police officer--should 
be executed.
    Some of the rioters had the audacity to tell me there was 
nothing personal, that they will go through me, through us 
police officers to achieve their goal, as they were breaking 
metal barriers to use as weapons against us.
    Or they used more menacing language: ``If you shoot us, we 
all have weapons. We will shoot back.'' Or, ``We'll get our 
guns. We outnumber you.'' They said, ``Join us.''
    I heard specific threats to the lives of Speaker Nancy 
Pelosi and then also Vice President Mike Pence. But the 
physical violence we experienced was horrific and devastating. 
My fellow officers and I were punched, kicked, shoved, sprayed 
with chemical irritants, and even blinded with eye-damaging 
lasers by a violent mob who apparently saw us law enforcement 
officers, ironically dedicated to protecting them as U.S. 
citizens, as an impediment to their attempted insurrection.
    The mob brought weapons to try to accomplish their 
insurrectionist objectives and used them against us. These 
weapons included hammers, rebars, knives, batons, and police 
shields taken by force, as well as bear spray and pepper spray.
    Some of the rioters wore tactical gear, including 
bulletproof vests and gas masks. The rioters also forcibly took 
our batons and shields to use them against us.
    I was particularly shocked at the scene that 
insurrectionists violently attacked us with the very American 
flag that they claimed to protect. Based on the coordinated 
tactics we observed and verbal commands we heard, it appears 
that many of these attackers had law enforcement or military 
experience.
    The rioters were vicious and relentless. We found ourselves 
in a violent battle desperate to attempt to prevent a breach of 
the Capitol by the entrance near the inauguration stage. 
Metropolitan Police Officers were being pulled into the crowd. 
We have one right here, right next to me.
    As we tried to push the rioters back from breaching the 
Capitol, in my attempt to assist two MPD officers, I grabbed 
one officer by the back of the collar and pulled him back to 
the police line.
    When I tried to help the second officer, I fell on top of 
some police shields on the ground that were slippery because of 
pepper spray and bear spray. Rioters immediately began to pull 
me by my leg, by my shield, by my gear strap on my left 
shoulder.
    My survivalist instincts kicked in, and I started kicking 
and punching as I tried in vain to get an MPD officer's 
attention behind, above me, but they could not help me because 
they also were being attacked.
    I finally was able to hit the rioter who was grabbing me 
with my baton and able to stand. Then I continued to fend off 
new attackers as they kept rotating and attacking us again and 
again.
    What we were subjected to that day was like something from 
a medieval battle. We fought hand-to-hand, inch by inch to 
prevent an invasion of the Capitol by a violent mob intent on 
subverting our democratic process. My fellow officers and I 
were committed to not letting any rioters breach the Capitol.
    It was a prolonged and desperate struggle. The rioters 
attempting to breach the Capitol were shouting, ``Trump sent 
us. Pick the right side. We want Trump.''
    I vividly heard officers screaming in agony, in pain, just 
an arm's length from me. I didn't know at that time, but that 
was Officer Hodges, and he's here today to testify.
    I too was being crushed by the rioters. I could feel myself 
losing oxygen and recall thinking to myself, ``This is how I'm 
going to die, defending this entrance.''
    Many of the officers fighting alongside me were calling for 
shields because their shields had been stripped from them by 
the rioters. I was one of the few officers left with a shield, 
so I spent the majority of my time at the front of the line.
    I later find out that my wife and relatives here in the 
United States and abroad were frantically calling and texting 
me from 2 p.m. onward because they were watching the turmoil on 
television. It was now 4:26 p.m., after giving CPR to one of 
the rioters who breached the Capitol in an effort to save her 
life, that I finally had a chance to let my own family know 
that I was alive.
    After order had finally been restored at the Capitol and 
many hours, I arrived at home at nearly 4 a.m. on January 7th. 
I had to push my wife away from me because she wanted to hug 
me, and I told her no because of all the chemicals that my 
uniform had on.
    Sorry.
    I couldn't sleep because the chemical reactivated after I 
took a shower, and my skin was burning. I finally fell asleep 2 
hours later, completely physically and mentally exhausted, yet, 
by 8 o'clock a.m., I was already on my way back to the Capitol. 
I continued to work for 15 consecutive days until after the 
inauguration. I made sure to work despite my injuries because I 
wanted to continue doing my job and help secure the Capitol 
complex. More than 6 months later, I'm still trying to recover 
from my injuries.
    Many of my fellow Capitol officers, as well as MPD 
officers, suffered several physical injuries from the violence 
inflicted on us on January 6th. I sustained injuries on both my 
hands, my left shoulder, my left calf, and my right foot. I 
already have undergone bone fusion surgery on my right foot, 
and I was just told that I need surgery on my left shoulder. I 
have been on medical and administrative leave for much of the 
past 6 months, and I expect to need further rehabilitation for 
possibly more than a year.
    There are some who express outrage when someone kneels 
while calling for social justice. Where are those same people 
expressing the outrage to condemn the violent attack on law 
enforcement, the Capitol, and our American democracy? I'm still 
waiting for them.
    As America and the world watched in horror what was 
happening at the Capitol, we did not receive timely 
reinforcement and support we needed. In contrast, during the 
Black Lives Matter protests last year, U.S. Capitol Police had 
all the support we needed and more. Why the different response?
    Were it not for the brave members of the MPD and, later on, 
from other law enforcement agencies, I'm afraid to think what 
could have happened on January 6th. I want to publicly thank 
all the law enforcement agencies that responded to assist that 
day, for their courage and their support. I especially want to 
thank those Capitol Police Officers who responded on their own 
from home after working midnight shift.
    Despite being outnumbered, we did our job. Every Member of 
the House of Representatives, Senators, and staff members made 
it home. Sadly, as a result that day, we lost officers--some 
really good officers. But we held the line to protect our 
democratic process because the alternative would have been a 
disaster. We are not asking for medals, recognition. We simply 
want justice and accountability.
    For most people, January 6th happened for a few hours but 
for those of us who were in the thick of it, it has not ended. 
That day continues to be a constant trauma for us literally 
every day, whether because of our physical or emotional 
injuries, or both. While it has not received much attention, 
sadly many of my colleagues have quietly resigned from the 
Capitol because of that day.
    I am also regularly called by law enforcement officials and 
prosecutors to help identify from photographs and videos the 
rioters.
    To be honest, physical therapy is painful and hard. I could 
have lost my life that day, not once but many times. But, as 
soon as I recover from my injuries, I will continue forward and 
proudly serve my country in the U.S. Capitol Police.
    As an immigrant to the United States, I'm especially proud 
to have defended the U.S. Constitution and our democracy on 
January 6th. I hope that everyone in position of authority in 
our country has the courage and conviction to do their part by 
investigating what happened on that terrible day and why. This 
investigation is essential to our democracy, and I'm deeply 
grateful to you for undertaking it.
    I'm happy to assist as I can and answer any questions you 
may have to the best of my ability.
    Thank you.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much for your vivid 
testimony, Sergeant Gonell.
    I now recognize Officer Fanone to summarize his testimony.
    Officer Fanone. \2\ Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Members of 
this Committee for inviting me to provide my eyewitness 
testimony of the violent assault on our Nation's Capitol on 
January 6, 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ Officer Fanone's prepared statement is included in the Appendix 
beginning on p. 57.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    My name, for those of you who don't know, is Michael 
Fanone. While I've been a sworn officer with the Metropolitan 
Police Department in Washington, DC, for almost two decades, my 
law enforcement career actually began here in this building as 
a United States Capitol Police Officer shortly after 9/11.
    In part because of the 2001 attack on our country by the 
terrorists, I felt called to serve. As a Capitol Police 
Officer, I was proud to protect this institution and dedicated 
Members of Congress and their staff who work hard each day to 
uphold our American democracy.
    I remain proud of the work of the United States Capitol 
Police and MPD Officers, who literally commit their lives to 
protecting the safety of each of you and all of us in this room 
in our Nation's Capital.
    After leaving the United States Capitol Police, I became an 
MPD officer, serving the residents of Washington, DC. I have 
spent the majority of my nearly 20 years as a Metropolitan 
Police Officer working in special mission units whose 
responsibilities include the investigation and arrest of 
narcotics traffickers and violent criminals.
    I've worked both as an undercover officer and the lead case 
officer in many of these investigations. In this line of work, 
it probably won't shock you to know that I've dealt with some 
dicey situations. I thought I had seen it all many times over, 
yet what I witnessed and experienced on January 6, 2021, was 
unlike anything I had ever seen, anything I had ever 
experienced or could have imagined in my country. On that day, 
I participated in the defense of the United States Capitol from 
an armed mob--an armed mob--of thousands determined to get 
inside.
    Because I was among the vastly outnumbered group of law 
enforcement officers protecting the Capitol and the people 
inside it, I was grabbed, beaten, tased, all while being called 
a traitor to my country. I was at risk of being stripped of and 
killed with my own firearm as I heard chants of ``kill him with 
his own gun.'' I can still hear those words in my head today.
    Although I regularly deal with risky situations on the job, 
nowhere in my wildest imagination did I ever expect to be in 
that situation or sitting here before you talking about it. 
That experience and its aftermath were something that not even 
my extensive law enforcement training could prepare me for.
    I was just one of hundreds of local police who lined up to 
protect Congress, even though I had not been assigned to do 
that. Some had asked why we ran to help when we didn't have to. 
I did that because I simply could not ignore what was 
happening. Like many other officers, I could not ignore the 
numerous calls--numerous calls--for help coming from the 
Capitol complex.
    I am a plainclothes officer assigned to the First District 
Crime Suppression Team. But, for the first time in nearly a 
decade, I put on my uniform.
    When my partner, Jimmy Albright, and I arrived at the 
Capitol around 3 that afternoon, it was like--excuse me. It was 
unlike any scene I had ever witnessed. Jimmy parked our police 
vehicle near the intersection of South Capitol Street and D 
Street in Southeast, and we walked to the Capitol, from there 
passing the Longworth House Office Building. It was eerily 
quiet. The sidewalks, usually filled with pedestrians, were 
empty.
    As we made our way to Independence Avenue, I could see 
dozens of empty police vehicles that filled the street, police 
barricades which had been abandoned, and hundreds of angry 
protesters, many of whom taunted us as we walked toward the 
Capitol Building.
    Jimmy and I immediately began to search for an area where 
we could be of most assistance. We made our way through a door 
on the south side of the Capitol, walking then to the Crypt, 
and finally down to the Lower West Terrace tunnel.
    It was there that I observed a police commander struggling 
to breathe as he dealt with the effects of CS gas that lingered 
in the air. Then I watched him collect himself, straighten his 
cap and trench coat adorned with its silver eagles, and return 
to the line.
    That commander was Ramey Kyle of the Metropolitan Police 
Department, and those images are etched into my memory, never 
to be forgotten. In the midst of that intense and chaotic 
scene, Commander Kyle remained cool, calm, and collected as he 
gave commands to his officers. ``Hold the line,'' he shouted 
over the roar.
    Of course, that day, the line was the seat of our American 
Government. Despite the confusion and the stress of the 
situation, observing Ray's leadership protecting a place I 
cared so much about was the most inspirational moment of my 
life. The bravery he and others showed that day are the best 
examples of duty, honor, and service. Each of us who carries a 
badge should bring those core values to our work every day.
    The fighting in the Lower West Terrace tunnel was nothing 
short of brutal. Here I observed approximately 30 police 
officers standing shoulder to shoulder, maybe 4 or 5 abreast, 
using the weight of their bodies to hold back the onslaught of 
violent attackers. Many of these officers were injured, 
bleeding, and fatigued, but they continued to hold the line.
    As I don't have to tell the Members in this room, the 
tunnel is a narrow and long hallway. It is not the sort of 
space anyone would want to be pulled into hand-to-hand combat 
with an angry mob, although the narrowness of the hallway 
provided what was probably the only chance of holding back the 
crowd from entering your personal offices, the House, and 
Senate Chambers.
    In an attempt to assist the injured officers, Jimmy and I 
asked them if they needed a break. There were no volunteers. 
Selflessly, those officers only identified other colleagues who 
may be in need of assistance.
    The fighting dragged on. I eventually joined the tactical 
line at the tunnel's entrance. I can remember looking around 
and being shocked by the sheer number of people fighting us; as 
my police body-worn camera shows, thousands upon thousands of 
people seemingly determined to get past us by any means 
necessary.
    At some point during the fighting, I was dragged from the 
line of officers and into the crowd. I heard someone scream, 
``I got one.''
    As I was swarmed by a violent mob, they ripped off my 
badge. They grabbed and stripped me of my radio. They seized 
ammunition that was secured to my body. They began to beat me 
with their fists and with what felt like hard metal objects. At 
one point, I came face to face with an attacker, who repeatedly 
lunged for me and attempted to remove my firearm. I heard 
chanting from some in the crowd: ``Get his gun and kill him 
with his own gun.''
    I was aware enough to recognize I was at risk of being 
stripped of and killed with my own firearm. I was electrocuted 
again and again and again with a taser. I'm sure I was 
screaming, but I don't think I could even hear my own voice.
    My body camera captured the violence of the crowd directed 
toward me during those very frightening moments. It's an 
important part of the record for this Committee's investigation 
and for the country's understanding of how I was assaulted and 
nearly killed as the mob attacked the Capitol that day, and I 
hope that everyone will be able to watch it.
    The portions of the video I've seen remained extremely 
painful for me to watch at times, but it is essential that 
everyone understands what really happened that tragic day.
    During those moments, I remember thinking there was a very 
good chance I would be torn apart or shot to death with my own 
weapon.
    I thought of my four daughters who might lose their dad.
    I remain grateful that no Member of Congress had to go 
through the violent assault that I experienced that day.
    During the assault, I thought about using my firearm on my 
attackers, but I knew that if I did, I would be quickly 
overwhelmed and that, in their minds, would provide them with 
the justification for killing me. So, I instead decided to 
appeal to any humanity they might have. I said as loud as I 
could manage, ``I've got kids.''
    Thankfully, some in the crowd stepped in and assisted me. 
Those few individuals protected me from a crowd and inched me 
toward the Capitol until my fellow officers could rescue me. I 
was carried back inside.
    What happened afterwards is much less vivid. I had been 
beaten unconscious and remained so for more than 4 minutes. I 
know that Jimmy helped to evacuate me from the building and 
drove me to MedStar Washington Hospital Center despite 
suffering significant injuries himself.
    At the hospital, the doctors told me that I had suffered a 
heart attack, and I was later diagnosed with a concussion, a 
traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic 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. 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 now telling me that hell 
doesn't exist or that hell actually wasn't that bad. The 
indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful.
    My law enforcement career prepared me to cope with some of 
the aspects of this experience. Being an officer, you know your 
life is at risk whenever 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, betray their oath of 
office--those very Members whose lives, offices, staff members 
I was fighting so desperately to defend.
    I agreed to speak here today and have talked publicly about 
what happened because I don't think our response to the 
insurrection should have anything to do with political parties. 
I know that what my partner, Jimmy, and I suited up for on 
January 6th didn't have anything to do with political parties 
or about politics or what political party any of you public 
servants belong to.
    I've worked in this city for two decades, and I've never 
cared about those things, no matter who was in office. All I've 
ever cared about is protecting you and the public so you can do 
your job in service to this country and for those whom you 
represent.
    I appreciate your time and attention. I look forward to the 
Committee's investigation, and I am hopeful, with your 
commitment, we as a country will confront the truth of what 
happened on January 6th and do what is necessary to make sure 
this institution of our democracy never falls into the hands of 
a violent and angry mob.
    We must also recognize the officers who responded that day, 
many unsolicited, and their countless acts of bravery and 
selflessness. It has been 202 days since 850 MPD officers 
responded to the Capitol and helped stop a violent insurrection 
from taking over this Capitol complex, which almost certainly 
saved countless Members of Congress and their staff from injury 
and possibly death. The time to fully recognize these officers 
is now.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to provide my testimony 
here today.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much for your testimony.
    Now, I don't think there is any question you have our 
commitment that we will do just that as a Committee.
    Officer Fanone. Thank you, sir.
    Chairman Thompson. I now recognize Officer Hodges to 
summarize his testimony.
    Officer Hodges. \3\ Good morning to the Committee, members 
of the press, and to the country.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Officer Hodges's prepared statement is included in the Appendix 
beginning on p. 59.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To the Members of the Committee, I'd like to thank you for 
your invitation today to provide my account of my knowledge and 
experiences from January 6, 2021.
    As the Chairman mentioned, I am a member of Civil 
Disturbance Unit 42 and was working in that capacity on the day 
in question. We started that day at 7:30 a.m., and our 
assignment at the time was to maintain high visibility along 
Constitution Avenue, namely the blocks leading up to 
President's Park, where then-President Donald Trump was holding 
his gathering.
    My particular station was in front of 1111 Constitution 
Avenue, where I stood on foot as the crowd poured down the 
street and into the park. There were a significant number of 
men dressed in tactical gear attending the gathering or wearing 
ballistic vests, helmets, goggles, military face masks, 
backpacks. Without identifiable visible law enforcement or 
military patches, they appeared to be prepared for much more 
than listening to politicians speak at a park.
    Two of my colleagues were approached by a group of 3 to 4 
such men. They were white men, in good shape, with load-bearing 
vests equipped with MOLLE pouches. They were wearing BDUs, or 
battle dress uniform pants, tactical boots, black sunglasses, 
and short haircuts. They had radios, and one was equipped with 
an earpiece.
    After a bit of small talk, one of them asked my colleague 
something to the effect of, Is this all the manpower you have? 
Do you really think you are going to be able to stop all these 
people? Dumbfounded, my colleague simply expressed they didn't 
understand what the speaker meant, and the group continued on.
    As the day went on and speakers in the park said their 
piece, I monitored the crowd on the radio. Over the radio, I 
heard our gun recovery unit working constantly, monitoring 
those in the crowd suspected of carrying firearms and making 
arrests and seizures when possible.
    Multiple gun arrests were made from January 5th through the 
7th against those attending and likely had attended or planned 
to attend Donald Trump's gathering. Unfortunately, due to the 
course of events that day, we will never know exactly how many 
were carrying firearms and other lethal weapons.
    I don't know what time it was, but eventually the flow of 
foot traffic reversed, with people leaving President's Park and 
traveling eastbound down Constitution Avenue toward the United 
States Capitol.
    At approximately 12:30 p.m., I noticed a commotion about 
half a block to my east, and I saw the crowd starting to 
coalesce around two figures. I ran to where they were and found 
a confrontation at the intersection of 10th and Constitution 
Avenue Northwest.
    One counter-protester, a Black man, was backpedaling away 
from a white man in a Trump-labeled face mask who was closely 
following him with an outstretched arm. Myself and my colleague 
first arrived and physically separated the two, but a crowd of 
Donald Trump's people had gathered.
    They attempted to bait the counter-protester into 
attacking, shouting insults such as, ``Your mother's a whore,'' 
and accusing him of hiding behind the cops. Eventually, enough 
MPD members had gathered to move along the crowd who continued 
eastbound toward the Capitol Building, and the counter-
protester departed northbound on 10th Street.
    Returning to my post, I continued to monitor the radio. I 
could hear Commander Glover leading the defense efforts at the 
Capitol as the protesters began their transition from peaceful 
assembly into terrorism. I became agitated and wished we could 
move in to support, as I could hear the increasing desperation 
of the commander's voice, yet we still had to wait for our 
orders to change, and eventually they did.
    At approximately 1:30 p.m., the commander authorized rapid 
response platoons to deploy their hard gear and respond to the 
Capitol, including CDU-42.
    The last thing I remember hearing over the air before 
departing for the Capitol Grounds was confirmation that our 
Explosive Ordnance Disposal team had discovered a device. Given 
which unit was being associated with the device, I immediately 
realized MPD had discovered a bomb of some type near the 
Capitol. This thought was never far from my mind for the rest 
of the day.
    We ran back to our vans and got on our hard gear as quickly 
as we could. Navigating alternate routes to avoid the foot 
traffic, we drove as close as we could to the Capitol, 
disembarking at the northwest side of the Capitol Grounds. We 
gave our gear a final check and marched toward the West 
Terrace.
    The crowd was thinner the further out from the Capitol you 
were, so as we marched, the resistance that we initially met 
was verbal. A man sarcastically yelled, ``Here come the boys in 
blue, so brave.'' Another called on us to ``remember your 
oath.'' There was plenty of booing. A woman called us storm 
troopers. Another woman, who was part of the mob of terrorists 
laying siege to the Capitol of the United States, shouted, 
``Traitors.'' More found appeal in this label and shouted 
``traitors'' at us as we passed. One man attempted to turn it 
into a disyllabic chant. We continued to march.
    We had been marching in two columns, but as we got closer 
to the West Terrace, the crowd became so dense that in order to 
progress, we marched single file with our hands on the 
shoulders of the man in front of us in order to avoid 
separation. However, as we came close to the terrorists, our 
line was divided, and we came under attack.
    A man attempted to rip the baton from my hands, and we 
wrestled for control. I retained my weapon after I pushed him 
back. He yelled at me, ``You're on the wrong team.''
    Cut off from our leadership, which was at the front of our 
formation, we huddled up and assessed the threat surrounding 
us. One man tried and failed to build a rapport with me, 
shouting, ``Are you my brother?'' Another takes a different 
tact, shouting, ``You will die on your knees.''
    I was at the front of our group and determined that we had 
to push our way through the crowd in order to join the defense 
proper, so I began shouting ``make way,'' as I forged ahead, 
hoping that I'm clearing a path for others behind me to follow. 
However, as I looked back, I saw that the rest of the group 
came under attack and were unable to follow.
    The crowd attempted to physically bar the rest of the 
platoon from following. I backtrack and started pulling the 
terrorists off my team from their backpacks and their collars.
    Around this time, one of the terrorists who had scaled the 
scaffolding that adorned the Capitol at the time threw 
something heavy down at me and struck me in the head, 
disorienting me. I suspect this resulted in the likely 
concussion I dealt with in the weeks after.
    Another man attempted to disarm me of my baton, and again, 
we wrestled for control. He kicked me in my chest as we went to 
the ground. I was able to retain my baton again, but I ended up 
on my hands and knees and blind. The medical mask I was wearing 
at the time to protect myself from the coronavirus was pulled 
up over my eyes so I couldn't see. I braced myself against the 
impact of their blows and feared the worst. Thankfully, my 
platoon had repelled their own attackers and got me back on my 
feet.
    The crowd start chanting ``U-S-A'' at us, and we struck out 
again for the West Terrace. I led the charge through the midst 
of crowd control munitions, explosions, and smoke engulfing the 
area. Terrorists were breaking apart the metal fencing and bike 
racks into individual pieces, presumably to use as weapons.
    Thankfully, we made it to the secondary defense line on the 
West Terrace that MPD and Capitol Police were managing to hold. 
The rest of my platoon got behind the line, and we could take 
stock of the situation.
    I realized that back during the previous assault, someone 
had stolen my radio. From that point on, I was in the dark as 
to our current status, when reinforcements would arrive.
    Terrorists were scaling the scaffolding on both our sides 
of the tower that was in front of us and attempting to breach 
the waist-high metal fencing that was the only barrier we had 
aside from ourselves.
    The sea of people was punctuated throughout by flags, 
mostly variations of American flags and Trump flags. There were 
Gadsden flags. It was clear the terrorists perceived themselves 
to be Christians. I saw the Christian flag directly to my 
front. Another read, ``Jesus is my savior. Trump is my 
President.'' Another, ``Jesus is king.'' One flag read, ``Don't 
give up the ship.'' Another had crossed rifles beneath a skull 
emblazoned with the pattern of the American flag.
    To my perpetual confusion, I saw the thin blue line flag, 
the symbol of support for law enforcement--more than once--
being carried by the terrorists as they ignored our commands 
and continued to assault us. The acrid sting of CS gas, or tear 
gas, and OC spray, which is mace, hung in the air as the 
terrorists threw our own CS gas canisters back at us and 
sprayed us with their own OC, either that they bought 
themselves or stole from us. Later, I learned at least one of 
them was spraying us in the face with wasp spray.
    The terrorists alternated between attempting to break our 
defenses and shouting at or attempting to convert us. Men 
alleging to be veterans told us how they had fought for this 
country and were fighting for it again. One man tried to start 
a chant of ``4 more years.'' Another shouted, ``Do not attack 
us, we're not Black Lives Matter,'' as if political affiliation 
is how we determine when to use force.
    A man in a QAnon hoodie exclaims, ``This is the time to 
choose which side of history to be on.'' A man whose shirt 
read, ``God, guns, and Trump'' stood behind him silently, 
holding a Trump flag.
    A new man came to the front and fixated on me, continually 
berating me, telling me to take off my gear and give it to him 
to show solidarity with ``We the People,'' or, ``We're going to 
run over you.'' His voice cracked with the strain and the 
volume of his threats. He continued, ``Do you think your little 
peashooter guns are going to stop this crowd? No. We're going 
in that building.''
    Eventually, there is a surge in the crowd, the fence 
buckled and broke apart, and we were unable to hold the line. A 
chaotic melee ensued. Terrorists pushed through the line and 
engaged us in hand-to-hand combat. Several attempted to knock 
me over and steal my baton. One latched on to my face and got 
his thumb in my right eye, attempting to gouge it out. I cried 
out in pain and managed to shake him off. I managed to shake 
him off before any permanent damage was done.
    I couldn't fully engage anyone; for the moment I do is when 
another 20 terrorists move in to attack while my hands are 
full. It was all we could do to keep ourselves on our feet and 
continue to fall back. I was sprayed with a fire extinguisher, 
and a red smoke grenade burns at our feet.
    In the fight, a terrorist is knocked to the ground and his 
jacket rides up, exposing a large hunting knife on his belt. I, 
along with several other officers, piled on him while another 
removed the knife from his person. He regained himself unharmed 
and shouts indignantly, ``What are you doing? What are you guys 
doing?''
    At this point, the terrorists had claimed most of the 
western terrace, cornering myself and other officers on the 
southern edge. We found a side stair off of the terrace up to 
an upper landing, followed by more stairs up and inside.
    Inside the Capitol Building, officers walked through the 
halls briefly until they found a place to sit, decontaminate 
their faces of OC and CS, and take a quick breather. I followed 
suit. Someone had managed to find a package of water bottles 
and was passing them out. I washed off my face as best I could, 
rinsed out my mouth, and drank the rest.
    I took the opportunity of relative safety to don my gas 
mask. Not long afterward, I heard someone calling for officers 
to move to assist. I steeled myself for another round and 
descended the stairway into a long hallway filled with smoke 
and screams.
    The Capitol Building is labyrinthine, but judging from the 
sound of intense combat, I could tell this hallway led outside 
to where the terrorists had forced our retreat. Officers were 
stacked deep, but every so often, one would fall back from the 
front line nursing an injury or struggling to breathe, and 
those who remained would take a step forward. It was a battle 
of inches, with one side pushing the other a few and then the 
other side regaining their ground.
    At the time, I, and I suspect many others in the hallway, 
did not know that the terrorists had gained entry into the 
building by breaking in doors and windows elsewhere, so we 
believed ours to be the last line of defense before the 
terrorists had true access to the building and to potentially 
our elected representatives.
    Eventually, it was my turn in the meat grinder that was the 
front line. The terrorists had a wall of shields that they had 
stolen from officers as well as stolen batons, what other 
armaments they brought. Even during this intense contest of 
wills, they tried to convert us to their cult.
    One man shouted, ``We all just want to make our voices 
heard, and I think you feel the same. I really think you feel 
the same,'' all while another man attempts to batter us with a 
stolen shield.
    Another man, like many others, didn't seem to appreciate 
that this wasn't a game. He fought his way across the lawn, up 
the steps, through the western terrace, all the OC and CS gas, 
and at the front line of this final threshold was asking us to 
hold on because he has asthma.
    The two sides were at a stalemate at a metal door frame 
that sat in the middle of the hallway. At the front line, I 
inserted myself so the frame was at my back, in an effort to 
give myself something to brace against and provide additional 
strength when pushing forward. Unfortunately, soon after I 
secured this position, the momentum shifted, and we lost the 
ground that got me there. On my left was a man with a clear 
riot shield stolen during the assault. He slammed it against me 
and, with all the weight of the bodies pushing behind him, 
trapped me.
    My arms were pinned and effectively useless, trapped 
against either the shield on my left or the door frame on my 
right. With my posture granting me no functional strength or 
freedom of movement, I was effectively defenseless and 
gradually sustaining injury from the increasing pressure of the 
mob.
    Directly in front of me a man seized the opportunity of my 
vulnerability, grabbed the front of my gas mask and used it to 
beat my head against the door. He switched to pulling it off my 
head, the straps stretching against my skull and straining my 
neck. He never uttered any words I recognized but opted instead 
for guttural screams. I remember him foaming at the mouth.
    He also put his cell phone in his mouth so that he had both 
hands free to assault me. Eventually, he succeeded in stripping 
away my gas mask, and a new rush of exposure to CS and OC spray 
hit me. The mob of terrorists were coordinating their efforts 
now shouting ``heave-ho,'' as they synchronized pushing their 
weight forward, crushing me further against the metal door 
frame.
    A man in front of me grabbed my baton that I still held in 
my hands, and in my current state I was unable to retain my 
weapon. He bashed me in the head and face with it, rupturing my 
lip and adding additional injury to my skull.
    At this point, I knew I couldn't sustain much more damage 
and remain upright. At best, I would collapse and be a 
liability to my colleagues; at worst, be dragged out into the 
crowd and lynched. Unable to move or otherwise signal the 
officers behind me that I needed to fall back, I did the only 
thing that I could do and screamed for help.
    Thankfully, my voice was heard over the cacophony of yells 
and the blaring alarm. The officer closest to me was able to 
extricate me from my position and another helped me fall back 
to the building again. I had found some more water and 
decontaminated my face as best I could. I don't know how long I 
waited in the halls for, but soon after I got back on my feet, 
I went to where the fight was again. Until reinforcements 
arrived, every able body made a difference.
    Without my gas mask, I was afraid I'd be a liability in the 
hallway, so I took the exit outside of the upper landing above 
the West Terrace. I found a police line being held and the 
terrorists encircling us much like on the West Terrace Lower. 
It was getting later in the day, however, and it appeared we 
weren't the only ones getting tired. It seemed most of the mob 
was content to yell rather than try and break our line again.
    After some time of guarding the upper landing, I saw 
reinforcements arrive from the south. I'm not sure which law 
enforcement agency it was, but I turned to them and I started 
clapping, as it was a sign that badly needed help was starting 
to finally arrive.
    Soon after that, I started feeling the effects of the day 
taking their toll and went back inside to rest. Gradually, all 
the members of CDU-42 gathered in the room known as the Capitol 
Crypt. We checked on each other and convalesced, glad to see 
each other in one piece.
    Despite our exhaustion, we would have ran out into the 
fight again should the need have arisen. Thankfully, as the day 
wore on, more and more resources had arrived at the Capitol to 
drive off the terrorists. We stayed in the Crypt until quite 
late.
    Even after we were allowed to leave the grounds, we didn't 
get to go home. Those who needed immediate medical attention 
took a van to the local hospital, while the rest of us parked 
near the city center until the city was deemed secure enough 
for us to check off. I believe we finally got that message 
around 1 a.m. the following morning. We drove back to the 
Fourth District and from there went home.
    Thank you for letting me testify.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much for your testimony.
    I now recognize Officer Dunn to summarize his testimony.
    Officer Dunn. \4\ Chairman Thompson, Members of the Select 
Committee, thank you for the opportunity today to give my 
account regarding the events of January 6, 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ Officer Dunn's prepared statement is included in the Appendix 
beginning on p. 63.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From my first-hand experience as a Capitol Police Officer 
directly involved in those events, and still hurting from what 
happened that day, I'm providing this testimony solely in my 
personal capacity and not as a representative of the United 
States Capitol Police.
    Before I begin, I'd like to take a moment of my time to ask 
for a moment of silence for my fallen colleague, Officer Brian 
Sicknick, who died from injuries he sustained in the line of 
duty defending the Capitol of our beloved democracy.
    Thank you.
    I reported for duty at the Capitol as usual early on the 
morning of January 6th. We understood that the vote to certify 
President Biden's election would be taking place that day and 
protests might occur outside the Capitol, but we expected any 
demonstrations to be peaceful expressions of First Amendment 
freedoms, just like the scores of demonstrations we had 
observed for many years.
    After roll call, I took my overwatch post on the East Front 
of the Capitol standing on the steps that led up to the Senate 
Chamber. As the morning progressed, I did not see or hear 
anything that gave me cause for alarm. But around 10:56 a.m., I 
received a text message from a friend forwarding a screen shot 
of what appeared to be the potential plan of action, very 
different from a peaceful demonstration.
    The screen shot bore the caption: ``January 6th--Rally 
Point--Lincoln Park,'' and said the objective was ``THE 
CAPITOL.'' It said, amongst other things, that ``Trump has 
given us marching orders,'' and to ``keep your guns hidden.'' 
It urged people ``to bring . . . your trauma kits'' and ``gas 
masks'' to ``[l]ink up early in the day'' in ``6-12 man 
teams.'' It indicated there would be ``time to arm up.''
    Seeing that message caused me concern. To be sure, looking 
back now, it seemed to foreshadow what happened later. At the 
time, though, we had not received any threat warnings from our 
chain of command. I had no independent reason to believe that 
violence was headed our way.
    As the morning progressed and the crowd of protesters began 
to swell on the east side of the Capitol, many displaying Trump 
flags, the crowd was chanting slogans like ``Stop the steal,'' 
and ``We want Trump.'' But the demonstration was still being 
conducted in a peaceful manner.
    Earlier that afternoon, Capitol Police dispatch advised all 
units over the radio that we had an active 10-100 at the 
Republican National Committee nearby: 10-100 is police code for 
a suspicious package, such as a potential bomb. That radio 
dispatch got my attention, and I started to get more nervous 
and worried, especially because the crowds on the East Front of 
the Capitol were continuing to grow.
    Around the same time, I started receiving reports on the 
radio about large crowd movements around the Capitol coming 
from the direction of The Ellipse to both the West and East 
Fronts of the Capitol. Then I heard urgent radio calls for 
additional officers to respond to the west side and an 
exclamation, a desperate voice, that demonstrators on the west 
side had breached the fence. Now it was obvious that there was 
a direct threat to the Capitol.
    I quickly put on a steel chest plate, which weighs 
approximately 20 pounds, and carrying my M-4 rifle, sprinted 
around the north side of the Capitol to the West Terrace and 
the railing of the inaugural stage, where I had a broad view of 
what was going on.
    I was stunned by what I saw. What seemed like a sea of 
people, Capitol Police Officers and Metropolitan Police 
Officers, MPD, were engaged in desperate hand-to-hand fighting 
with rioters across the west lawn.
    Until then, I had never seen anyone physically assault 
Capitol Police or MPD, let alone witness mass assaults being 
perpetrated on law enforcement officers. I witnessed the 
rioters using all kinds of weapons against officers, including 
flagpoles, metal bike racks that they had torn apart, and 
various kinds of projectiles. Officers were being bloodied in 
the fighting. Many were screaming, and many were blinded and 
coughing from chemical irritants being sprayed in their faces. 
I gave decontamination aid to as many officers as I could, 
flushing their eyes with water to dilute the chemical 
irritants.
    Soon thereafter, I heard, ``Attention all units, the 
Capitol has been breached,'' and that rioters were in various 
places inside the building. At that point, I rushed into the 
Capitol with another officer, going first to the basement on 
the Senate side where I'd heard an MPD officer needed a 
defibrillator.
    After returning outside to the West Terrace to assist the 
officers, I went back into the Capitol and up the stairs toward 
the Crypt. There I saw rioters who had invaded the Capitol, 
carrying a Confederate flag, a red MAGA flag, and a ``Don't 
Tread on Me'' flag.
    I decided to stand my ground there to prevent any rioters 
from heading down the stairs to the Lower West Terrace 
entrance, because that's where officers were getting 
decontamination aid and were particularly vulnerable.
    At the top of the stairs, I confronted a group of 
insurrectionists, warning them, do not go down those steps. One 
of them shouted, ``Keep moving, patriots.'' Another displayed 
what looked like a law enforcement badge and told me, ``We're 
doing this for you.'' One of the invaders approached me like he 
was going to try to get past me and head down the stairs. I hit 
him, knocking him down.
    After getting relieved by other officers in the Crypt, I 
took off running upstairs toward the Speaker's Lobby and helped 
the plainclothes officer who was getting hassled by 
insurrectionists. Some of them were dressed like members of a 
militia group, wearing tactical vests, cargo pants, and body 
armor. I was physically exhausted, and it was hard to breathe 
and to see because of all the chemical spray in the air.
    More and more insurrectionists were pouring into the area 
by the Speaker's Lobby near the Rotunda, and some wearing MAGA 
hats and shirts that said, ``Trump 2020.'' I told them to just 
leave the Capitol, and in response they yelled, ``No, man, this 
is our house.'' ``President Trump invited us here.'' ``We're 
here to stop the steal.'' ``Joe Biden is not the President.'' 
``Nobody voted for Joe Biden.''
    I'm a law enforcement officer, and I do my best to keep 
politics out of my job, but in this circumstance, I responded, 
``Well, I voted for Joe Biden. Does my vote not count? Am I 
nobody?''
    That prompted a torrent of racial epithets. One woman in a 
pink MAGA shirt yelled, ``You hear that, guys? This nigger 
voted for Joe Biden.'' Then the crowd, perhaps around 20 
people, joined in screaming, ``Boo, fucking nigger.'' No one 
had ever, ever called me a nigger while wearing the uniform of 
a Capitol Police Officer.
    In the days following the attempted insurrection, other 
Black officers shared with me their own stories of racial abuse 
on January 6th. One officer told me he had never in his entire 
40 years of life been called a nigger to his face, and that 
streak ended on January 6th. Yet, another Black officer later 
told me he had been confronted by insurrectionists in the 
Capitol who told him, ``Put your gun down and we'll show you 
what kind of nigger you really are.''
    To be candid, the rest of the afternoon is a blur, but I 
know I went throughout the Capitol to assist officers who 
needed aid and help expel more insurrectionists. In the Crypt, 
I encountered Sergeant Gonell, who was giving assistance to an 
unconscious woman who had been in the crowd of rioters on the 
west side of the Capitol. I helped to carry her to the area of 
the House Majority Leader's Office where she was administered 
CPR.
    As the afternoon wore on, I was completely drained, both 
physically and emotionally, and in shock and in total disbelief 
over what had happened. Once the building was cleared, I went 
to the Rotunda to recover with other officers and share our 
experiences from what happened that afternoon. Representative 
Rodney Davis was there offering support to officers, and when 
he and I saw each other, he came over and he gave me a big hug.
    I sat down on a bench in the Rotunda with a friend of mine, 
who is also a Black Capitol Police Officer, and told him about 
the racial slurs I endured. I became very emotional and began 
yelling, how the blank could something like this happen? Is 
this America? I began sobbing. Officers came over to console 
me.
    Later on January 6th, after order and security had been 
restored in the Capitol through the hard work and sacrifices of 
law enforcement, Members took the floor of the House to speak 
out about what had happened that day. Among them was House 
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who, along with my fellow 
officers, I had protected that day and will protect today and 
tomorrow--I had protected that day and will protect today and 
tomorrow.
    The Minority Leader, to his great credit, said the 
following to the House: ``The violence, destruction, and chaos 
we saw earlier was unacceptable, undemocratic, and un-American. 
It was the saddest day I have ever had serving in this 
institution.''
    Members of this Select Committee, the Minority Leader was 
absolutely right how he described what took place in the 
Capitol. For those of us in the Capitol Police, who serve and 
revere this institution and who love the Capitol Building, it 
was the saddest day for us as well.
    More than 6 months later, January 6th still isn't over for 
me. I've had to avail myself of multiple counseling sessions 
from the Capitol Police Employee Assistance Program, and I am 
now receiving private counseling therapy for the persistent 
emotional trauma of that day. I've also participated in many 
peer support programs with fellow law enforcement officers from 
around the United States.
    I know so many other officers continue to hurt both 
physically and emotionally. I want to take this moment to speak 
to my fellow officers about the emotions they are continuing to 
experience from the events of January 6th. There's absolutely 
nothing wrong with seeking professional counseling. What we 
went through that day was traumatic, and if you are hurting, 
please take advantage of the counseling services that are 
available to us.
    I also respectfully ask that this Select Committee review 
the available resources--the services available to us and 
consider whether they are sufficient enough to meet our needs, 
especially with respect to the amount of leave that we are 
allowed.
    In closing, we can never again allow our democracy to be 
put in peril as it was on January 6th. I thank the Members of 
the Select Committee for your commitment to determine what led 
to disaster at the Capitol on January 6th, what actually took 
place that day, and what steps should be taken to prevent such 
an attack on our democracy from ever happening again.
    I also want to thank and acknowledge my brothers and 
sisters in blue who fought alongside me on January 6th to 
protect our democracy. Each of you is a hero, and it is my 
honor to serve with you each and every day.
    I'd like to thank the American people for all of the 
support that they have provided these past several months to me 
and my fellow officers.
    Last, to the rioters, the insurrectionists, and the 
terrorists of that day, democracy went on that night and still 
continues to exist today. Democracy is bigger than any one 
person and any one party. You all tried to disrupt democracy 
that day and you all failed.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I would 
be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much.
    I thank all the witnesses for their testimony.
    The rules we established allowed you the opportunity to 
tell your story. There is no question about it; you have done 
it in your own words. We appreciate it. So, what we will do now 
is begin our questioning of you.
    I now recognize myself for questions.
    At the time of the attack on the Capitol, I was in the 
gallery observing the proceedings on the House floor. While 
Members of Congress were being protected by the police, you, 
the patriots protecting the Capitol in our very democracy, were 
being attacked by the mob outside.
    I want to learn more about what you did and what you 
witnessed. Officer Fanone, as a narcotics officer, you weren't 
supposed to be at the Capitol on January 6th. Is that right?
    Officer Fanone. Yes, sir, that's correct.
    Chairman Thompson. What prompted you to come to the 
Capitol?
    Officer Fanone. I mean, I was listening to the radio 
transmissions, specifically those coming from now-Commander 
Robert Glover, who was the on-scene commander. If you've 
listened to those transmissions, he identifies himself as 
Cruiser 50.
    I heard things that I had never heard before in my law 
enforcement career. In addition to the numerous distress calls 
or 10-33s that I heard, which are, while not commonplace, also 
not uncommon in policing, I heard things like, you know, the 
declaration of a city-wide 10-33, which in my career, to my 
recollection, has only been utilized, in addition to the 9/11 
attacks, on the Navy Yard attack. So, I found that particularly 
distressful.
    Also, you could hear the tone of the individual officer's 
voices. They were scared. They were, you know, clearly 
outnumbered and being violently assaulted.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you. So, basically, the radio 
traffic, the 10-33 signal on the radio, and your basic law 
enforcement instinct said your fellow comrades needed help, and 
therefore you made your way, along with your friend, to the 
Capitol?
    Officer Fanone. Yes, sir.
    Chairman Thompson. So, you went anyway. Let me thank you 
for that. I understand a number of other people did the same.
    Officer Hodges, we've seen the harrowing video of you being 
crushed in a doorway as you bravely fought to keep the mob from 
breaching the Capitol. Many of your fellow officers' acts of 
heroism were not captured on video and are not therefore known 
to the public. Can you please share with the Committee other 
acts of heroism by your colleagues on January 6th that you're 
aware of?
    Officer Hodges. Absolutely. One of my sergeants, Sergeant 
Brian Peake, while fighting, maintained control over the 
barricades on the West Terrace, was struck by a rioter and 
fractured and severely lacerating his right index finger. He 
kept in the fight for several more hours after that and just 
put some tape on it, a napkin, and went back to work. He was 
there for several hours before finally accepting medical evac. 
He ended up having to have the tip of his finger removed.
    Another officer who was out there in the fight with us, 
he--much like myself--he had a large, heavy object thrown and 
struck his head. He wasn't as lucky as me, though. He has 
suffered lost time from that day, and he remains still out on 
medical leave. Even today he has not returned to work, but at 
the time he was still fighting.
    Another officer, who was fought on the West Terrace and in 
the tunnels, instrumental to the defense, after being 
completely soaked with OC spray, was shocked several times by a 
cattle prod one of the terrorists brought with them.
    When I went over my testimony--my opening statement before, 
I mentioned that we were attacked outside the second area-of-
defense line on the West Terrace, and after we rallied there, 
we continued onward. I know that another officer found a 
Capitol Police Officer who was being dragged out into the 
crowd, and he was unable to signal to us what was going on. So, 
he charged in there by himself and got that officer back out of 
there and in the process hyperextended his knee and took 
several other injuries.
    You know, The Washington Post and Carnegie Mellon 
University have estimated that there were about 9,400 
terrorists out there, and I would say we had about 150, 175 
officers. So, any one of them could tell you any amounts of 
heroic acts or injuries they sustained, but these are just a 
few that I know of.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much.
    Officer Gonell, you talked about your tour in Iraq and what 
have you--and thank you for your service. Can you give the 
Committee a sense of comparing that tour and experiences with 
what you experienced on January 6th?
    Sergeant Gonell. Sure. Back when I was in Iraq and sometime 
on a convoy mission to provide mutual support or taking care 
packages or whatnot to my other units in detachment--we went 
through roadside bomb-infested IEDs, whatnot, convoys. My fears 
were minimal around that time. It was not as constant. I know 
we knew at that time that we could run over an IED and that was 
it, but at least we knew that we were in a combat zone. Here, 
in our country, in our very own Capitol, we are being attacked. 
Not once but multiple times we had----
    Chairman Thompson. Can you pull the microphone to you just 
a little bit?
    Sergeant Gonell. Oh, sorry. Not only we were attacked one 
time, but it was multiple times, over and over, different 
people. They hit us and then they got tired of hitting us and 
then they switch, somebody else, rotating in and out.
    As my colleagues also have said, we were at the lowest 
entrance tunnel, and we didn't have a chance to rotate 
ourselves until later on, like after an hour and a half later. 
So, whoever was there, we were fighting for our life. We were 
fighting to protect all of you.
    In our mind, that time, at that entrance, that was it. That 
was the point of breach, and we were not letting them in.
    They tried to convert us. They tried to persuade us to let 
them in, yelling, and then once they saw that we were not doing 
that, they continued to attack us even more, and it was 
nonstop.
    So, my time compared to Iraq, totally different. This is 
our own citizens, people who we swore an oath to protect, but 
yet they are attacking us with the same flag that they claim to 
represent. It was bad.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you.
    Officer Dunn, you talked about being called the N-word, you 
talked about being talked about like you've never heard before, 
and you talked about sharing comments from your other 
colleagues, as well as the seeing of the Confederate flag and 
other things carried through the Capitol.
    As an African-American law enforcement officer, can you 
give us, this Committee and those who are watching, how you 
felt defending the Capitol on that day being called that and 
seeing the symbols of the Confederacy going through the Capitol 
at the same time?
    Officer Dunn. Yes, sir. Thank you for your question. To be 
frank, while the attack was happening, I didn't view it and I 
wasn't able to process it as a racial attack. I was just trying 
to survive that day and get home.
    When I did have a moment to process it, I think that's in 
the Rotunda where I became so emotional, because I was able to 
process everything that happened, and it was just so 
overwhelming. It's so disheartening and disappointing that we 
live in a country with people like that, that attack you 
because of the color of your skin just to hurt you. Those words 
are weapons.
    Thankfully, at the moment, it didn't hinder me from doing 
my job, but once I was able to process it, it hurt. It hurt 
just reading it now and just thinking about it, that people 
demonize you because of the color of your skin, when my blood 
is red, I'm an American citizen, I'm a police officer, I'm a 
peace officer, I'm here to defend this country, defend 
everybody in this building, not just the Members, all the 
staff, guests, everybody.
    It just hurts that we have people in this country that 
resort to that regardless of your actions and what you desire 
to do to make a difference out there. It's disheartening.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you. But because of your heroism 
on that day, lives were saved, and our democracy was preserved, 
in large part because you gave your all, all of you, for that 
day on January 6th. I assure you this Committee will ensure 
there is a comprehensive account of your heroic acts of that 
day, and your testimony this morning is an essential part of 
that record. Thank you for your service to this country and for 
coming before us today.
    The Chair now recognizes Members for questions they may 
wish to ask the witnesses. The gentlewoman from Wyoming, Ms. 
Cheney, is recognized.
    Ms. Cheney. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Again, thank you to all of our witnesses for your heroism 
and your bravery that day, and also for being here today and 
telling your story. I certainly join the Chairman and every 
Member of this Committee in our commitment to making sure we 
get to the truth and that those who did this are accountable.
    Officer Gonell, I'd like to ask you, you describe in your 
testimony that it was--you said it was like a medieval 
battlefield, that what you were subjected to that day was 
something like a medieval battlefield. You said, ``We fought 
hand-to-hand and inch by inch to prevent an invasion of the 
Capitol by a violent mob intent on subverting our democratic 
process.''
    Is it the case that as you were fighting there, you were 
not aware that the Capitol had been breached elsewhere? I 
believe you said that you really thought that was--you were the 
last line of defense. Is that right?
    Sergeant Gonell. That is correct, ma'am.
    Ms. Cheney. So, Officer Gonell, when you----
    Sergeant Gonell. Sergeant.
    Ms. Cheney [continuing]. Think about that and share with us 
the vivid memory of the cruelty and the violence of the assault 
that day, and then you hear former President Trump say, ``It 
was a loving crowd. There was a lot of love in the crowd,'' how 
does that make you feel?
    Sergeant Gonell. It's upsetting. It's a pathetic excuse for 
his behavior for something that he himself helped to create, 
this monstrosity. I'm still recovering from those hugs and 
kisses that day that he claimed that so many rioters, 
terrorists were assaulting us that day. If that was hugs and 
kisses, then we should all go to his house and do the same 
thing to him.
    To me, it's insulting, it's demoralizing, because 
everything that we did was to prevent everyone in the Capitol 
from getting hurt. What he was doing, instead of sending the 
military, instead of sending the support, or telling his 
people, his supporters to stop this nonsense, he egged them to 
continue fighting.
    I was in the Lower West Terrace fighting alongside these 
officers, and all of them--all of them--were telling us, 
``Trump sent us.'' Nobody else. There was nobody else. It was 
not Antifa. It was not Black Lives Matter. It was not the FBI. 
It was his supporters that he sent them over to the Capitol 
that day. He could have done a lot of things; one of them was 
to tell them to stop.
    He talks about sacrificing--sacrifices, whatnot; the only 
thing that he has sacrificed is the institutions of the country 
and the country itself only for his ego, because he wants the 
job but he doesn't want to do the job. That's a shame on him, 
himself.
    Ms. Cheney. Thank you.
    Officer Fanone, you talked in your testimony about the fact 
that the line that day was the seat of American democracy, was 
the seat of our Government. Can you talk about, as you think 
now about what was under threat, first of all, did you have a 
sense at the time, as you were going through the battle before 
the horrific violence happened to you, of the nature of the 
gravity of the threat that we were facing, that the line was, 
in fact, the seat of American democracy?
    Officer Fanone. Well, my response that day really was based 
off of my obligation as a police officer to not only protect 
the lives of the Members of Congress and their staff but also 
to my fellow officers. The politics of that day really didn't 
play into my response at all.
    Ms. Cheney. Thank you.
    Officer Hodges, in your testimony, you talk about when you 
were at The Ellipse, and you mentioned the significant number 
of men dressed in tactical gear attending the gathering, 
wearing ballistic vests, helmets, goggles. When you saw that, 
was that something that you had anticipated at all? Could you 
just tell us more about that crowd there at The Ellipse, the 
extent to which you saw people who clearly were in military or 
paramilitary garb?
    Officer Hodges. It was absolutely a source of concern. Like 
I said, they had outer carrier vests designed to carry 
ballistic shielding, helmets, goggles, face masks, backpacks 
filled with unknown objects. I couldn't get a count and we 
couldn't stop and search everyone, so I don't know how many 
there were. But I know that, it was obviously a concern of 
mine.
    Ms. Cheney. Thank you very much.
    Then, finally, Officer Dunn, you mentioned the text message 
that you received, and you expressed some surprise. You 
mentioned that you had not seen any intelligence that would 
have led you to believe that we should expect that kind of 
violence. Could you elaborate on that a little bit?
    Officer Dunn. Yes, ma'am. We were expecting civil 
disobedience, as we do at the Capitol, at least that was what 
was relayed to us; a couple of arrests, name calling, 
unfriendly people, but nowhere near the level of violence or 
even close to it like that we experienced.
    When I received the text messages, it made the hairs on my 
neck rise. But since our chain of command had not told us to 
prepare for any of these levels of violence, I was just like, 
okay, whatever. Like, I've been here--I start year 14 in 
November--and I've dealt with hundreds of protests where people 
get arrested and for peaceful First Amendment protests. 
Everybody has the right to protest. Okay. Do what you do, and 
we'll arrest you if you break the law, and we'll go home later 
that night. It was a lot different than that, but I was not 
alerted to the level of violence. Like, the text messages I got 
foreshadowed that looking back, but, no, we were not prepared 
for what we faced that day.
    Ms. Cheney. Thank you.
    Mr. Chairman, I'd like to ask unanimous consent to enter 
that complete text message into the record.
    Chairman Thompson. Without objection, so ordered.
    Ms. Cheney. Thank you.
    [The information follows:]
    
    
    Ms. Cheney. Again, I would just like to express my deep 
gratitude for what you all did to save us, and it won't be 
forgotten, and we will get to the bottom of this. Thank you 
very much.
    With that, I yield back.
    Chairman Thompson. The gentlelady yields back.
    The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California, Ms. 
Lofgren.
    Ms. Lofgren. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Thanks to each one of you and your colleagues for what you 
did. I was on the floor of the House helping to defend the 
voters of Arizona to a challenge to their electors while you 
were out trying to keep a violent mob from invading the 
Capitol.
    So, I really do want to thank you for your tremendous 
courage and stamina and heroism, not just for myself; I Chair 
the House Administration Committee, and I know how many others 
work in this Capitol, not only the staff to the Members of 
Congress, but the food service workers who were present and 
clerical staff. You saved them as well, and so they also owe 
you a debt of gratitude.
    I do realize that ultimately the rioters breached the 
Capitol, but the time that you kept them out really made a 
tremendous difference. You saved the day. You saved the 
Constitution, and it made a tremendous difference for our 
country.
    Officer Dunn, I did hear you about the need for additional 
help, and I want to pledge to you that we will work with the 
Capitol Police to make sure that the resources, the mental 
health unit has the resources that officers need. I'll make 
that pledge to you right now.
    Officer Dunn. Thank you.
    Ms. Lofgren. I would like to ask, Sergeant Gonell, not 
everyone knew that you were fighting in the hallway near the 
Lower West Terrace on January 6th. Can you tell me what you 
went through on that hallway? Then while you were there, 
Metropolitan Police arrived to help you out. What difference 
did that make?
    Sergeant Gonell. Sure, ma'am. Before I start, by no means 
am I suggesting that we would go to his house. I apologize for 
my outburst.
    After we retreated to the Lower West Terrace entrance, it 
was rough. It was terrible. Everything that was happening to 
us, it was simultaneously, and we didn't have a lot of support. 
We had probably like 50 officers at most when we went back in. 
Once we were there, we started saying to ourselves, this is it. 
This is the entrance where they're going to try to breach. 
We're going to hold the line. We're going to do everything 
possible, without even coordinating among ourselves.
    The few officers who were still carrying shields, we 
automatically assumed position in the front. Some of those 
shields were taken, ripped apart from the officers' hands. Some 
of the officers also got concussed because they were hit with 
the same shields they were holding, because that was so 
violently taken from them that they were concussed.
    There were multiple struggles in terms of fighting. My 
shield was round, and I was able to get some strikes, but 
because we were in so close quarters, it was hard for us to 
even do that. The only thing we were allowed to was push 
forward. Whoever has shields stay in the front, and whoever was 
in behind the people with the shield, then they were striking 
those rioters.
    At some point, I fell on the floor on top of some shields, 
trying to help and assist some of the officers, and I got 
pulled to the crowd. Luckily, I was able to free myself and 
stand up.
    Later on, the second time I went back to the front, that's 
when Officer Hodges was getting trampled. I was getting 
trampled, because just the mere force of the rioters pushing 
forward and police officers pushing out, we were getting 
trampled in the middle. So, it was a very terrible thing that 
happened to us, yes.
    Ms. Lofgren. Officer Fanone, before I ask you a question, 
I'd like to show a brief video clip of some of what you went 
through today. I realize this can be difficult to watch, but I 
think it's important for the public to see.

    Voice. Where is the West Front of the Capitol Building?
    Voice. What do you got there?
    Voice. 10-33.
    Crowd. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Come on, MPD!
    Voice. Push!
    Voice. You've got to fight the right people.
    Voice. Push!
    Voice. I got you, Mike. That's my hand. You're good.
    Voice. Push them back!
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Voice. This is for you guys. This is for you.
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Voice. I've got one.
    Voice. You can't do this to me. I've got kids.
    Voice.  . . . why the fuck?
    Voice. We need a medic! We need EMTs now!
    Officer Albright. Mike, stay in there, buddy. Mike, it's Jimmy; I'm 
here. Mike!

    Ms. Lofgren. Almost all of that was from your body camera 
footage. Can you walk us through what we've just seen, Officer 
Fanone?
    Officer Fanone. Well, I believe the first portion of that 
video began--that was my body-worn camera footage from the 
Crypt area of the Capitol Rotunda. It was there that I first 
heard the 10-33, or distress call, come out from the Lower West 
Terrace tunnel, which I didn't realize at the time was only a 
few hundred yards away from where I was at.
    I told my partner, Jimmy Albright, who was there with me, 
that there was a 10-33 coming out from the Lower West Terrace. 
We tried to get our bearings and figure out which way that 
might be. We asked a group of Capitol Police Officers, and they 
directed us down a set of stairs. From there, Jimmy and I 
walked down to the Lower West Terrace tunnel.
    The first thing I remember was seeing a buddy of mine, 
Sergeant Bill Bogner, who is an administrative sergeant. He 
used to work in my district. Now he works over at the academy. 
He was unable to see. He had been sprayed in the face with bear 
mace.
    I went up to him and told him, ``Hey, it's Fanone.'' I 
remember he stretched out his hand to shake mine. That's when 
he told me that the guys that were just beyond that set of 
double doors had been fighting there for--I believe he said 
about 30 minutes. I don't think he realized what time it was 
because they had been fighting since around 1 p.m. It was 3 
o'clock. So, those guys had been there fighting for 2 hours 
unrelieved.
    I remember looking up through the set of double doors. 
There was glass panes, and you could see the CS gas, like white 
powder, still lingering in the air. It was at that point that I 
realized I probably should have brought my gas mask.
    So, I went through the double doors, and I saw Ramey Kyle, 
who was, at the time, a commander with our Criminal 
Investigations Division, overseeing all the detectives units. 
Like many other officers, sergeants, lieutenants, captains that 
day, he self-deployed and found himself commanding a group of 
about 30 or 40 officers there in the Lower West Terrace tunnel.
    Commander Kyle was having a difficult time breathing. I 
remember I followed him back out through the set of double 
doors into that initial hallway, as he kind of cleared himself, 
straightened himself up. I described it before. I thought he 
looked like George Patton.
    I remember he put his hat back on and walked right back out 
through the doorway into the tunnel, and I followed him. It was 
at that point, I think, when I started approaching that group 
of officers there defending the doorway that I realized the 
gravity of the situation.
    My initial thought was these guys looked beat to hell, and, 
you know, maybe I could try to get in there and get some guys 
some help.
    So, I told Jimmy that, you know, we needed to get in there 
and try to offer assistance, and that's what we did initially. 
We started making our way through the crowd of officers, 
yelling out, ``Who needs a break?''
    Like I said in my initial testimony, there were no 
volunteers. There were officers who identified other colleagues 
who were in need of help, and I remember somebody yelling out, 
``This guy needs help,'' and handed me that officer. I handed 
him off to Jimmy and told him to get him to the back. I 
continued to make my way up to the front lines.
    Once I got up there, it was the first time I really came 
face-to-face with these terrorists. They were dressed in, you 
know, clothing adorned with political slogans, ``Make America 
Great Again,'' ``Donald Trump 2020,'' things of that nature. 
They were wearing military-style clothing, Kevlar vests, Kevlar 
helmets. Many of them had gas masks, and quite a few had 
shields, which they had taken away from law enforcement 
officers, and they were using them to beat us at the front 
line.
    The first thing I told them was, ``Hey, man, we've got to 
get these doors closed. We've got injured officers in here.''
    That really seemed to piss those guys off. They became 
incredibly violent, and that's when that surge that you watched 
in some of the video began. You had a large group at the mouth 
of that tunnel entrance trying to push their way through the 
officers who were fighting to defend it.
    I believe, had they done so or had they accomplished that, 
they would have trampled us to death. Most certainly, you would 
have had police officers killed.
    I fought there at the front for some time. I was yelling 
out, you know, trying to inspire some of the other officers 
that were up there that were tired, telling them to dig in and 
push, and we started to make some progress.
    Sergeant Gonell. I remember that.
    Officer Fanone. We pushed those guys out of the tunnel, out 
through the initial threshold, and I remember thinking to 
myself, ``Man, it's good to get some fresh air.'' It was at 
that point that I was pulled off the line.
    That initial period of time where I was pulled off that 
line was kind of a blur. I just remember getting violently 
assaulted from every direction and eventually found myself out 
probably about 250, maybe 300 feet away from the mouth of the 
tunnel where the other officers were at. I knew that I was up 
shit creek without a paddle.
    I was trying to push guys off of me, create some space. All 
the while, I recognized the fact that there were individuals 
that were trying to grab a hold of my gun. I remember one of 
them distinctly lunging at me time and time again trying to 
grab my gun. I heard people in the crowd yelling, ``Get his 
gun, kill him with his own gun,'' and words to that effect.
    I thought about using my weapon. I believed that there were 
individuals in the crowd whose intentions were to kill me. I 
came to that conclusion because of the fact that, separated 
from these other officers, who were only trying to defend the 
Capitol, I no longer posed any type of threat nor was I an 
impediment to them going inside of the building, but yet they 
tortured me. They beat me. I was struck with a taser device at 
the base of my skull numerous times. They continued to do so 
until I yelled out that I have kids.
    I said that hoping to appeal to some of those individuals' 
humanity, and fortunately, a few did step in and intervene on 
my behalf.
    They did assist me back toward the mouth of the tunnel 
entrance, and other officers were then able to rescue me and 
pull me back inside. But, at that point, I was unconscious. 
Based off the body-worn camera footage, it's believed that I 
was unconscious for approximately 4 minutes.
    Ms. Lofgren. Thank you, Officer. Thanks to each one of you. 
Our country is lucky, really blessed that you are as patriotic 
and brave as you are.
    I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Thompson. The gentlelady yields back.
    The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. 
Kinzinger.
    Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Thank you to my colleagues on the Committee.
    Thank you to our witnesses. I never expected today to be 
quite as emotional for me as it has been. I've talked to a 
number of you and gotten to know you.
    I think it's important to tell you right now, though. You 
guys may individually feel a little broken. You guys all talked 
about the effects you have to deal with and you talked about 
the impact of that day.
    But you guys won. You guys held.
    You know, democracies are not defined by our bad days. 
We're defined by how we come back from bad days, how we take 
accountability for that. For all the overheated rhetoric 
surrounding this Committee, our mission is very simple. It's to 
find the truth, and it's to ensure accountability.
    Like most Americans, I'm frustrated that, 6 months after a 
deadly insurrection breached the United States Capitol for 
several hours on live television, we still don't know exactly 
what happened. Why? Because many in my party have treated this 
as just another partisan fight. It's toxic, and it's a 
disservice to the officers and their families, to the staff and 
the employees on the Capitol complex, to the American people 
who deserve the truth, and to those generations before us who 
went to war to defend self-governance because self-governance 
is at stake.
    That's why I agreed to serve on this Committee. I want to 
know what happened that day. But, more importantly, I want all 
Americans to be able to trust the work this Committee does and 
get the facts out there free of conspiracy.
    This cannot continue to be a partisan fight. I'm a 
Republican. I'm a conservative. But, in order to heal from the 
damage caused that day, we need to call out the facts. It's 
time to stop the outrage and the conspiracies that fuel the 
violence and division in this country. Most importantly, we 
need to reject those that promote it.
    As a country, it's time to learn from our past mistakes, 
rebuild stronger so this never happens again, and then we can 
move onward. Serving on this Committee, I'm here to investigate 
January 6th not in spite of my membership in the Republican 
Party but because of it; not to win a political fight but to 
learn the facts and defend our democracy.
    Here is what we know: Congress was not prepared on January 
6th. We weren't prepared because we never imagined that this 
could happen--an attack by our own people fostered and 
encouraged by those granted power through the very system they 
sought to overturn. That is a lesson. That is not a conspiracy 
theory or a counternarrative. We don't blame victims. We go 
after the criminals.
    Some have concocted a counternarrative to discredit this 
process on the grounds that we didn't launch a similar 
investigation into the urban riots and looting last summer.
    Mr. Chairman, I was called on to serve during the summer 
riots as an Air National Guardsman. I condemn those riots and 
the destruction of property that resulted, but not once did I 
ever feel that the future of self-governance was threatened 
like I did on January 6th. There is a difference between 
breaking the law and rejecting the rule of law, between a 
crime--even grave crimes--and a coup.
    As we begin our work today, I want to call this Committee's 
attention to the oath of office, an oath not to a party, not to 
an individual, but to the Constitution that represents all 
Americans. Everyone in elected office knows how hard it can be 
sometimes to keep that oath, to preserve, protect, and defend 
the Constitution of the United States in the forefront of our 
minds, what with the political pressures and reelections always 
around the corner.
    But, Mr. Chairman, our witnesses today, like every law 
enforcement officer across the country, took the same oath we 
did. On January 6th, the temptation to compromise their oaths 
didn't come in the form of a campaign check or a threat from 
leadership or an all-caps tweet. It came in the form of a 
violent mob.
    While we on this dais were whisked away from the danger, 
heroes like those here stood their posts before it and paid the 
price, and we are only here now because you guys were here 
then.
    Therefore, it's altogether fitting that we begin our 
investigation of January's lawless attack against the 
Constitution with these four men who made sure that the attack 
did not succeed, with those who helped to ensure that democracy 
held. I think it's important to remember that you are four with 
stories, but there are hundreds with stories as well that you 
represent, where you sit.
    Officer Fanone, I know your passion is to make sure that 
D.C. Metro gets the credit it's due, and I thank you. I know 
that you represent the hundreds of officers, like Officer 
Hodges, that responded to that call.
    What I want to ask: Does this feel like old history to any 
of the four of you? Sometimes we hear out there: It's time to 
move on, right? It's been 6 whole months, time to move on.
    Does this feel like old history and time to move on? You 
can just say yes or no.
    Sergeant Gonell. No, sir.
    Officer Fanone. Nope.
    Officer Hodges. There can be no moving on without 
accountability. There can be no healing until we make sure this 
can't happen again.
    Officer Dunn. I echo that. How do you move on without 
correcting what happened?
    Mr. Kinzinger. Let me ask you all--one of the narratives 
out there--and, Officer Fanone, it triggered something in your 
testimony when you said it. So, there has been this idea that 
this was not an armed insurrection, as if somehow that is 
justification for what happened. We know the hugs and kisses. 
We know it was BLM and Antifa, right? Of course, then you 
would, I'm sure, want to investigate that if that's the case.
    Now we've heard maybe the FBI actually had started this. 
But one of the ones that has always held was that this was not 
an armed insurrection.
    Officer Dunn, you mentioned that those that stormed the 
Capitol were very well-organized and trained. Let me ask you--
and I'll ask actually to all four of you. Officer Hodges, I 
know this was part of your job initially before you responded 
to the Capitol. If, in the middle of all that melee, you see 
somebody with a gun in that crowd, would you be able to go out, 
apprehend, arrest them, read them their rights, and go through 
that process, or was the mission at the moment survival and 
defense of the Capitol?
    So, I'm asking: Is it possible that people maybe had guns? 
We've seen that actually there were, but this idea that, wow, 
people weren't arrested with guns. At the time, it was raw 
survival.
    We can just start on the left. Let me ask you: What's your 
response to that?
    Sergeant Gonell. For those people who continue to downplay 
this violent attack on our democracy and officers, I suggest 
them to look at the videos and the footage, whatnot, because 
common things were used as weapons, like a baseball bat, a 
hockey stick, a rebar, a flagpole, including the American flag, 
pepper spray, bear spray.
    So, you name it. You had all these items and things that 
were thrown at us and used to attack us. Those are weapons. No 
matter--if it is a pen, the way they were using these items, it 
was to hurt officers. It was to hurt police officers. Their 
intent was not to say, ``Hey, let me go and find the 
Republicans or the Democrats in there, or the Independents.'' 
It was every single body that was here in this building, in the 
Capitol, that their intent was to get them out and hurt them.
    It would have been a much different outcome had we not 
stopped them, especially at the Lower West Terrace entrance. 
Even though, at that time, we didn't know that there were other 
breaches in the Capitol, our intent was to stop whoever was 
trying to come in through that door.
    Those weapons that were used, those were common items, but 
the way they were using it was as weapons.
    Mr. Kinzinger. Let me ask, too, in kind of my final 
moments, Sergeant Gonell--Officer Hodges, you were a Virginia 
guardsman, I believe--fellow guardsmen?
    Officer Hodges. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Kinzinger. At any time in your service in the 
military--as you know, I'm an Air Guardsman--and, Sergeant 
Gonell, you specifically mentioned your time in Iraq. At any 
time in your military service, did you change how you defended 
the person to your left or right or how you trained with them 
based on their political affiliation----
    Officer Hodges. No. Not at all.
    Mr. Kinzinger [continuing]. Whether it was in a war or 
anything?
    Officer Hodges. No.
    Sergeant Gonell. No, sir. The way I viewed it at the time 
was I'm an American, and the person right next to me is an 
American, and I would do everything possible for me to defend 
him and the country at that time.
    Mr. Kinzinger. You guys did that. You guys did that in the 
blue.
    Sergeant Gonell. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Kinzinger. I want to say that is the mission of this 
Committee. We may have our deep differences on other policy 
issues, but we are all Americans today, and we thank you for 
holding that line.
    Officer Dunn. Congressman, if I may? If I may respond to 
Congressman----
    Mr. Kinzinger. Please.
    Officer Dunn. When you asked about the armed part, when the 
officers--assumed officers--showed me what appeared to be a 
police badge, I don't know too many police officers--this is 
just me being a police officer for 13 years--that carry their 
badge and don't carry a gun with them.
    We look on their hips. You see a print. I didn't see that 
it was a gun, but a reasonable police officer will believe that 
that's a gun on their hip.
    Mr. Kinzinger. Just to quickly be specific, a print is 
basically what looks like the outline of a gun?
    Officer Dunn. That's correct.
    Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Thank you, witnesses.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you.
    The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California, Mr. 
Schiff.
    Mr. Schiff. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I was on the House floor from the beginning of the joint 
session until the attack and evacuation by the Capitol Police, 
and I want to thank you. I'm convinced that one of the lives 
you saved that day might very well have been my own. We are all 
greatly in your debt. You are all heroes.
    Sergeant Gonell, Representative Lofgren asked you about 
your experience, and I won't ask you to repeat that. I would 
like the public to see, from your perspective, some video, if 
you're comfortable with my showing it?
    Sergeant Gonell. Yes, that's fine.
    Mr. Schiff. If the clerk could roll the video, please.

    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Voice. You're going to die tonight.
    Voice. You gotta lock `em together. Here, like this. Arms through 
these shields. You know how to put your arms? Do we have a hard platoon 
guy here?
    Voice. Yeah.
    Voice. Show them how to lock the shields together and hold the 
shields.
    Voice. We need an avenue of escape, so wait to lock this one in. Go 
ahead.
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Gas! Gas! Gas! Gas! Gas! Gas!
    Crowd. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Back up! No, stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!
    Crowd. [unintelligible]

    Mr. Schiff. Sergeant, in that video, one of the first 
things you hear is someone saying, ``You're going to die 
tonight.'' You described in your opening statement being 
crushed by rioters. You could feel yourself losing oxygen, 
thinking this was how your life was going to end, trampled to 
death defending the Capitol.
    It's hard for any of us to understand what you went through 
even though we were there. It's even harder, I think, for 
people around the country to understand what that was like.
    Can you tell us what you were thinking when you were losing 
oxygen and thought that might be the end?
    Sergeant Gonell. My rationale there and the way I was 
thinking, like we can't let these people in, no matter what, 
even if it costs my life. That bloody hand that you saw, that's 
me in there. Both my hands were bleeding bad. At no point in 
time did I stop, to consider to stop, because the attacks were 
so relentless. I was thinking I need to survive this, if 
possible, but I'm willing to sacrifice myself to prevent the 
attackers from coming in.
    I swore an oath to protect the public, the Members of 
Congress, and the United States Constitution and whatnot. 
That's what I was doing that day, regardless of my personal 
safety, along with everybody else who was there that day.
    They were calling us traitors, even though they were the 
ones committing the treasonous act that day. It is devastating 
and demoralizing for people, whoever party it is, to call this 
attack and continue to minimize it like nothing happened. It 
was an attempted coup that was happening at the Capitol that 
day. If it had been another country, the United States would 
have sent help.
    People need to understand the severity of, and the 
magnitude of, the event that was happening that day. We were 
all fighting for our lives, to give them--to give you guys--a 
chance to go home to your family, to escape. Now the same 
people who we helped, the same people who we gave them the 
borrowed time to get to safety, now they're attacking us. 
They're attacking our characters. They're attacking Officer 
Harry's character, people who never served in the military or 
in law enforcement. It's a disgrace.
    My actions that day was to save you guys, regardless of my 
personal safety. I still continue to want to do that today, 
tomorrow, and as long as I'm permitted to do it, and if it is 
demanded of myself to do that in the future.
    Mr. Schiff. Sergeant, this obviously had a deep impact on 
you, all of you, but it's also had a big impact on your family. 
You described how, when you got home, you couldn't even hug 
your wife because you had chemicals all over you. You wanted to 
go back. It seems like, no sooner had you gotten home, you 
wanted to go back.
    Sergeant Gonell. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Schiff. I think I read that you said you felt guilty.
    Did your wife want you to go back?
    Sergeant Gonell. No.
    Mr. Schiff. Why did you go back, and what was your 
conversation with her about that?
    Sergeant Gonell. After I took a shower, I spent about 10 
minutes hugging her and my son. I told her, ``I've got to get 
some sleep because I've got to go back to work.''
    She said, ``No, you're not. You're hurt.''
    I said, ``No. I'm still able to continue to carry out my 
duties.'' By 8 o'clock, I was already on my way back despite 
her concerns for my safety.
    My sense of duty for the country, for the Constitution, at 
that time was bigger than even my love for my wife and my son. 
I put that ahead.
    For me, it's confounding that some people who have sworn an 
oath, elected officials, including people in the military, that 
I seen at the Lower West Terrace fighting against me, they 
swore an oath, and they're forgetting about the oath. They're 
not putting the country before the party, and that's what 
bothers me the most because I, as a former soldier, I know what 
that inherits, that oath, and I'm still willing to do that.
    We've got people right now in front of the Justice 
Department asking to release some of the very same people even 
though we are testifying about the trauma and the agony, 
everything that happened to us. It's pathetic, and they 
shouldn't be elected officials anymore.
    Mr. Schiff. Officer Dunn, you described talking to your 
fellow Black officer about what you went through and 
experiencing those racial epithets. You asked a question, I 
think, that I've been haunted by ever since: Is this America? 
I'm very interested to know your thoughts on the answer to that 
question.
    Is this America, what you saw?
    Officer Dunn. Well, thank you for your question.
    You know, I've done a few interviews before about my 
experiences that day, and I said that it was a war that we 
fought, and a war is composed of a bunch of different battles. 
Everybody, even sitting at this table, fought a different 
battle that day, but it was all for the same war.
    As Black officers, I believe we fought a different battle 
also. The fact that we had our race attacked and just because 
of the way we look, you know, to answer your question, frankly, 
I guess it is America. It shouldn't be, but I guess that's the 
way that things are.
    I don't condone it. I don't like it, but, I mean, if you 
look at our history, of American history, things are--countries 
existed because they beat--they won a war, or colonies and 
State lines and boundaries exist because of violence and wars 
like--so I guess it sounds silly, but I guess it is American.
    But it's not the side of America that I like. It's not the 
side that any of us here represent. We represent the good side 
of America, the people that actually believe in decency--human 
decency. We appeal to just the good in people. That's what we 
want to see.
    Whether we disagree with how they vote on a bill about 
infrastructure, everybody wants the right thing, people to do 
okay.
    So, that's why I'm glad to see this Committee composed of 
Republican Members also. So, that's encouraging. It's 
encouraging. So, that's the side of America that I say, yes, 
this is America. This is the side that I like and the side that 
I acknowledge.
    Mr. Schiff. Officer, thank you. I believe in this country, 
and I believe in it because of people like you, who understand 
what the flag means and what our Constitution means and risk 
their lives to defend it.
    I'd like to think, as Amanda Gorman so eloquently said, 
that we're not broken; we're just unfinished. Because, if we're 
no longer committed to a peaceful transfer of power after 
elections if our side doesn't win, then God help us. If we deem 
elections illegitimate merely because they didn't go our way 
rather than trying to do better the next time, then God help 
us. If we're so driven by bigotry and hate that we attack our 
fellow citizens as traitors if they're born in another country 
or they don't look like us, then God help us.
    But I have faith because of folks like you.
    Adam, I didn't expect this would be quite so emotional 
either, but it must be an Adam thing today.
    But I'm so grateful to all of you.
    With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Thompson. The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California, Mr. 
Aguilar.
    Mr. Aguilar. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Members of the 
Committee.
    Gentlemen, like my colleagues, I want to extend my 
gratitude and appreciation for your service on January 6th and 
since then, what you've had to go through.
    I was on the House floor, like my colleagues, on the 6th 
when I was told that a violent mob had breached the Capitol. 
It's because of your service--it's because of you and your 
colleagues--that we're here today, because you were literally 
the last line of physical defense, laying your life on the line 
for democracy.
    My time will be limited, so I'll be asking questions of 
Officer Hodges and Sergeant Gonell, primarily about the weapons 
that you observed and how they were used.
    Officer Hodges, you were in a unique position because you 
were down Constitution. You were closer to the White House to 
start, as you indicated in your testimony. During the morning 
and the early afternoon on the 6th, what did you hear 
specifically about guns and explosives that had been discovered 
by your fellow officers?
    Officer Hodges. I was listening on the radio to our gun 
recovery unit, working the crowd. What we usually try to do is 
wait for the crowd to disperse before making arrests. That way, 
we don't set off the crowd, set off a riot. So, I think they 
may have identified people of interest that they never got a 
chance to address. They were working the crowd to try and 
confirm reports of firearms on certain people, but it's also 
difficult to do given the nature of the crowd and how many 
there were.
    When I heard our EOD confirm the existence of a device, 
there was only one thing it could be. You know, explosives. 
But, in 42, we had our own objective, our own mission, so we 
would scan the crowd, but these people--they know how to 
conceal their weapons. So, on a big avenue like Constitution, 
it's difficult to detect the print or, if it's in a backpack, 
there is really not much you can do.
    But we continue to scan the crowd and find what we could, 
but mostly it was up to our other units to make those 
discoveries.
    Mr. Aguilar. In response to Representative Cheney, you 
talked about the gear that the individuals were wearing. So, 
combined with what you saw visually with what you had heard on 
the radio about guns, that all kind of led you to give pause 
about the next few hours, correct?
    Officer Hodges. Absolutely. You know, once we got to the 
Capitol and we were fighting, I was wondering, how many more 
bombs are there? What's the trigger? Is it going to be a cell 
phone? Is it on a timer? How many guns are there in this crowd? 
If we start firing, is that the signal to them to set off the 
explosives, however many there are in the city? Is that the 
signal for them to break out their firearms and shoot back?
    So, that's the reason why I didn't shoot anyone and I 
imagine why many others didn't, because, like I said before, 
there were over 9,000 of the terrorists out there with an 
unknown number of firearms, and a couple hundred of us maybe.
    So, if that turned into a firefight, we would have lost, 
and this was a fight we couldn't afford to lose.
    Mr. Aguilar. I want to play a video, and I'd ask that 
everyone watching pay attention specifically to the weapons the 
rioters were using. You can hear someone yell, ``Get your 
machete.'' You can see officers being attacked with flagpoles, 
flares, and gas canisters.
    If we could roll the video.

    Police Radio Transmission. We're still taking rocks, bottles, and 
pieces of flag and metal pole.
    Police Radio Transmission. Cruiser 50, the crowd is using munitions 
against us. They have bear spray in the crowd. Bear spray in the crowd.
    Voice. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Get your machete. Get your machete.
    Voice. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Pull back. Pull back.
    Voice. [unintelligible]

    Mr. Aguilar. Sergeant Gonell, in the video, we just saw 
someone throw a large speaker. Was that directed your way?
    Sergeant Gonell. I was further inside. That was afterward, 
toward the end--before they got clear. When they threw the 
speaker at me I was further inside the tunnel.
    Mr. Aguilar. What types of weapons did you see used against 
your fellow officers?
    Sergeant Gonell. Police shields, police baton, the 
sledgehammer that you saw on that video, flagpoles, tasers, 
pepper spray, bear spray, rebars, bats, PVC pipes, copper 
pipes, rocks, table legs broken down, furniture broken down, 
the guardrails for the inauguration stage, cones, four-by-four, 
any weapons, any items that they could get their hands on that 
day.
    Mr. Aguilar. You were further down the corridor, but a 
speaker was thrown at you, and it hit your foot. Is that 
correct?
    Sergeant Gonell. Correct, sir.
    Mr. Aguilar. We have a photo----
    Sergeant Gonell. It was thrown my way, and then, when it 
landed, it hit somebody else, and it hit my foot.
    Mr. Aguilar. I think we have the photo of your foot here as 
well that we'd like to show.
    Sergeant Gonell. That is correct.
    Mr. Aguilar. Can you tell me how you're doing? You 
mentioned in your opening statement about your continued 
physical therapy related to the foot. Can you tell me how 
you're doing?
    Sergeant Gonell. The foot, I had several conditions--one is 
fusion on No. 1 metatarsal, tarsal--metatarsal. Then there was 
the hammer toe as a result of the hit. Then the second and 
third digit also got damage. In order to fix one, they need to 
correct the big toe to stabilize. If not, later on in the 
future, I would have had the same problem returning.
    It is very painful. With a lot of patience and 
determination that I had gone through, I still have the same 
problems in terms of pain and stiffness, whatnot.
    The doctor last week, on Tuesday, told me that I'm going to 
need surgery on my shoulder because I have a labrum tear that 
has not healed even more than 6 months later. Possibly my 
rotator cuff also is going to need some work.
    So, you're talking about 8 months to a year more of 
physical treatment and rehab.
    Mr. Aguilar. Sergeant, you're an immigrant from the 
Dominican Republic, a naturalized U.S. citizen, and you 
mentioned how individuals had zeroed in on your race that day.
    Sergeant Gonell. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Aguilar. Can you tell me how that made you feel?
    Sergeant Gonell. Before, or right after, MPD arrived with 
the fluorescent mountain bike unit, I was on the front line, 
and apparently they seen--even through my mask--they saw my 
skin color and said, ``You're not even American.''
    Regardless whether I was in the military, they don't know 
that, but they yelling and saying all these things to me. I 
mean, when I heard that, I wasn't even thinking about any 
racial stuff. I was like, ``Okay. You don't know that for a 
fact,'' so I'm not even entertaining that.
    But it's--just like Officer Harry Dunn, it takes time for 
you to process that, and you only realize what was happening 
after you go back and see it from a different point in time 
because I only saw that recently. But, for me, I wasn't even 
thinking of it. I'm there to stop them regardless. I'm not 
thinking what they were yelling in terms of my skin color or my 
race. I know I'm an American former soldier and a police 
officer. I didn't take that into account when I was defending 
all of you guys.
    Mr. Aguilar. Officer Hodges, you characterized the attack 
on the Capitol as a white nationalist insurrection.
    Can you describe what you saw that led you to label the 
attack that way?
    Officer Hodges. The crowd was overwhelmingly white males, 
usually a little bit older, middle-aged, older, but some 
younger. I think, out of the entire time I was there, I saw 
just two women and two Asian males. Everyone else was white 
males.
    They didn't say anything especially xenophobic to me, but 
to my Black colleagues and anyone who is not white, and some of 
them would try to recruit me. One of them came up to me and 
said, ``Are you my brother?''
    There are many, many known organizations with ties to white 
supremacy who had a presence there, you know, like Three 
Percenters, Oath Keepers, that kind of thing. Everyone I've 
ever--people who associate with Donald Trump are, I find, more 
likely to subscribe to that kind of belief system.
    Mr. Aguilar. I want to thank the four of you for taking the 
very difficult step of sharing your stories and your 
recollections of the threats and violence that you endured. No 
one should have to experience what you went through.
    This Committee will continue its work to give a complete 
accounting of what happened, to protect further officers, and 
to amplify the stories that you've shared today.
    Thank you so much for being here.
    I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you. The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair recognizes the gentlelady from Florida, Mrs. 
Murphy.
    Mrs. Murphy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Thank you to the witnesses for your testimony today, for 
your bravery on January 6th, and for your service to our 
country.
    I know all of you endured a great deal on January 6th, and 
I know we've watched a lot of difficult video in this testimony 
so far, but I hope it's okay with you if I show a brief video 
of what Officer Hodges experienced that day.
    Can you please cue the video?

    Voices. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Hold it, baby. Hold it, baby.
    Voices. [unintelligible]
    Voice. Hold it, baby.
    Voice. Back up! Back up!
    Crowd. [screaming]
    Voice. Interlock the shields. Interlock shields.
    Voice. Watch out! Watch out!
    Voice. Interlock the shields. Shields!
    Crowd. Heave-ho. Heave-ho. Heave-ho.
    Officer Hodges. [screaming]

    Mrs. Murphy. Officer Hodges, I know that must have been 
difficult to watch, but I really think it's important for the 
American people to see that because that's the beginning of the 
kind of accountability that this Committee is committed to in 
order for us to do what you said, moving forward as a country.
    You know, January 6th was an attack on our democracy. It 
was an attack on the peaceful transfer of power, and it was an 
attack on this Capitol Building. But it was also an attack on 
real people. Most people don't know this, and I don't think 
even you know this, but your actions had a profound impact on 
me.
    So, at 3 p.m. on January 6th, while you were holding back 
the mob at the Lower West Terrace entrance, I was holed up with 
Congresswoman Kathleen Rice in a small office about 40 paces 
from the tunnel that you all were in. That's about from the 
distance where I'm sitting here on the dais to that back wall.
    From that office, in close proximity to where you all held 
the line, I listened to you struggle. I listened to you yelling 
out to one another. I listened to you care for one another, 
directing people back to the makeshift eyewash station that was 
at the end of our hall.
    Then I listened to people coughing, having difficulty 
breathing. But I watched you and heard you all get back into 
the fight. I think Congresswoman Rice and I were the only 
Members of Congress to be down there on that Lower West 
Terrace.
    You know, we had taken refuge in that office because we 
thought for sure being in the basement at the heart of the 
Capitol was the safest place we could be, and it turned out we 
ended up at the center of the storm.
    Officer Fanone, you had said, you know, you were 250 feet 
off of that tunnel, and you felt certain that they were going 
to kill you. Imagine if they had caught the two Members of 
Congress that were just 40 feet from where you all were.
    I know, Sergeant Gonell and Officer Hodges, you both said 
that you didn't realize that other parts of the Capitol had 
been breached, but you really felt like you were the last line 
of defense. Well, I'm telling you that you were our last line 
of defense.
    During the exact period of time, Officer Hodges, in that 
video where you were sacrificing your body to hold that door, 
it gave Congresswoman Rice and I and the Capitol Police 
Officers who had been sent to extract us the freedom of 
movement on that hallway to escape down the other end of that 
hallway. I shudder to think about what would have happened had 
you not held that line.
    You know, I have two young children. I have a 10-year-old 
son and a 7-year-old daughter, and they're the light of my 
life. The reason I was able to hug them again was because of 
the courage that you and your fellow officers showed that day.
    So, just a really heartfelt thank you.
    I think it's important for everybody, though, to remember 
that the main reason rioters didn't harm any Members of 
Congress was because they didn't encounter any Members of 
Congress. They didn't encounter any Members of Congress because 
law enforcement officers did your jobs that day, and you did it 
well.
    I think, without you, what would have been a terrible and--
what was a terrible and tragic day--would have been even more 
terrible and more tragic.
    So, just very grateful for all of you.
    Now, I'd like to talk a little bit about that video. You've 
talked a little bit about it in your opening statement, but can 
you walk us through what is happening in that scene? My 
understanding is that is a mix of your body camera as well as 
video from other vantage points.
    Officer Hodges. That's correct. At the beginning, you see 
me walking into the Capitol. That was after we were driven off 
of the West Terrace. I think you see me spit on the floor 
unfortunately. I was trying to clear my lungs and mouth of all 
the CS and OC. You see me preparing my gas mask, donning it, 
ready to get back out there.
    I followed the noise to the tunnel where it was just, you 
know, wall-to-wall people, packed, fighting with everything 
they had. It was full of OC and CS gas at the time, and I 
believe that the smoke was from a fire extinguisher. You could 
see all the residue on the officers who were there.
    It's like I said before. You know, they outnumbered us 50-
something to 1, so it didn't matter how many we defeated. We 
just had to hold on. We couldn't let anyone through, and they 
always had essentially an infinite number of replacements. 
They'd say, you know, ``We need fresh patriots up here,'' and 
there would be more.
    So, we just had to hold until someone came to help.
    Like I said, once I got out to the front, I didn't want any 
more pressure on the officers behind me, so I tried to insert 
myself to where I could use the door frame, brace myself, and 
push forward so I could take back more territory. 
Unfortunately, that backfired.
    So, once we lost ground, I was unable to retreat. I was 
crushed up against the door frame, and, in my most vulnerable 
moments, the man in front of me took advantage and beat me in 
the head; ripped off my gas mask, straining my neck, skull; 
split my lip open; just everything he could.
    At that point, I recognized that, if I stayed there, then I 
was going to pass out from lack of oxygen or get dragged out 
into the crowd and end up like Fanone.
    So, I called for help. You know, I tried to make it clear 
that, you know, my position was untenable, I had to fall back. 
Thankfully the other officers heard that, were able to get me 
out of there, and to the back where I recuperated as best I 
could before I got back out there again.
    Mrs. Murphy. Well, it's clear that you suffered immense 
pain from the assault. It's clear that you were outnumbered, 
and yet you just said you got back out there again. Tell me 
what's worth all of that pain? What was worth it? What were you 
fighting for that day?
    Officer Hodges. Democracy. You were 40 feet away, 40 yards, 
whatever. Especially with the razor-thin margins of Democrats 
and Republicans in the House and Senate, if any single one 
person was kidnapped or killed, which I have no doubt in my 
mind was what they intended, that would affect the outcome of 
legislation and all your duties for years to come. And that's 
just one person. What if, you know, more than one person? The 
difference would be even greater than what should be and will 
be.
    And obviously, for each other. You know, your immediate 
concern is the well-being of your colleagues, the other 
officers who were there fighting beside me. I think I can speak 
for everyone when I say we worry about each other more than 
ourselves. That's just in our nature. It's part of why you 
become a police officer.
    So, like when Fanone said he was trying to find out who 
needs help and no one would volunteer, that's just an example 
of that kind of a mindset that we have. So, it was for 
democracy; it was for the men and women of the House and 
Senate; it was for each other; and it was for the future of the 
country.
    Mrs. Murphy. Thank you, Officer Hodges, and thank you all 
for defending democracy, and I appreciate your testimony, and I 
appreciate your continued service.
    With that, I yield back.
    Chairman Thompson. The gentlelady yields back.
    The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. 
Raskin.
    Mr. Raskin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Sergeant Gonell, Officer Fanone, Officer Hodges, Officer 
Dunn, you are great law enforcement officers and a hero to law 
enforcement officers across the country. You are great public 
servants. You are a hero to public servants across the country. 
But you are great Americans, and you are heroes to all of 
America. Long after you are gone, you will be remembered as 
heroes to our country, along with your fellow officers.
    Those who attacked you and those who beat you are fascist 
traitors to our country and will be remembered forever as 
fascist traitors.
    Now, Officer Dunn, I've got to start with you, because 
you're my constituent, and you are the pride of Maryland today 
because of the way you stood up for the Capitol and for the 
Congress and for our democracy.
    But you said something fascinating in your testimony. You 
said you'd never seen anybody physically assault a single 
officer before in your 13 years on the force, much less 
thousands and thousands of people attacking hundreds of 
officers. So, how did you experience that when it first 
happened?
    Officer Dunn. So, with regards to the never seeing, I'm 
sure I've seen videos of officers being attacked and people 
resisting arrest, but to clarify, it's never been the assault 
on the scale that we have seen like that before. I just wanted 
to clarify that.
    Can you repeat your question for me?
    Mr. Raskin. Well, it leads to my next one actually. You 
made a really interesting point. You said you'd seen protests 
for many, many years. You'd seen even civil disobedience for 
many years. There's an effort today to portray the events of 
January 6th like some kind of resurrection of Dr. King's march 
on Washington in 1963, you know.
    I've seen a lot of protests here too. I've seen the March 
for Our Lives that the young people did about gun violence. I 
see people marching for D.C. Statehood, arguing for their 
rights to representation in Congress, and I've seen civil 
disobedience. But was this like any of those rallies or marches 
or demonstrations you'd ever seen? If not, what was different 
about it?
    Officer Dunn. So, the marches that you--the protests that 
you specifically talked about, I'll go a step further and talk 
about the ones that had the potential to be not-so peaceful. 
You had the Million Man March rally, the 20th anniversary of 
it. There was a lot of opposition to that. You had the Klan 
that came up here. You had people that were pro-guns that 
wanted to come up here. So, all of those had the potential to 
be very violent and, frankly, quite deadly, but they did not.
    This wasn't the first time that, if I can just use this 
quote, that the MAGA people came up here to the Capitol before. 
They were in the District of Columbia before. There were some 
skirmishes, but it was never the attempt to overthrow 
democracy. I think this was maybe their second or third time 
that they had come up, on January 6th, and even then, as 
belligerent as they were, it didn't account to this violence.
    So, the only difference that I see in that is that they had 
marching orders, so to say. When people feel emboldened by 
people in power, they assume that they're right. Like, one of 
the scariest things about January 6th is that the people that 
were there, even to this day, think that they were right. They 
think that they were right, and that makes for a scary recipe 
for the future of this country.
    I think that's why it's very important that you all take 
this Committee seriously and get to the bottom of why this 
happened, and let's make it never happen again.
    Mr. Raskin. Thank you.
    Officer Fanone, I think you've given our Committee our 
marching orders today, which is to hold the line. You held the 
line, and now we've got to hold the line. So, I want to thank 
you for that. If we show a fraction of the courage and the 
valor that you all demonstrated on January 6th, then we will 
hold the line in this Committee.
    But I want to ask you about holding the line. I want to go 
back to this question of weapons so we can clear this up, 
because there are still some people who are saying that the 
insurrectionists were unarmed. I wonder what your reaction is 
to that, because we've heard about--well, first of all, rampant 
baseball bats, lead pipes, Confederate battle flags and so on, 
and what about the question of firearms. So, what is your 
reaction generally to this proposition that they weren't armed?
    Officer Fanone. First and foremost, I would say that the 
implements that you just described are most certainly weapons. 
With regards to firearms, I know that in the days immediately 
before the January 6th insurrection and January 6th itself, 
firearms were recovered by law enforcement from individuals in 
Washington, DC, who were believed to have been participants or 
at least those who were planning to participate in the January 
6th insurrection. Yes, those were firearms, handguns, and such.
    Mr. Raskin. Forgive me for these questions, but I've got to 
ask you, apparently in some nether regions of the internet it's 
being said that you, Officer Fanone, maybe were mistaken for 
Antifa and that's why you were nearly beaten to death that day 
and carried into the crowd. Is there any way you think you were 
mistaken for Antifa?
    Officer Fanone. Well, I was in full uniform. I was, like I 
said, wearing a uniform shirt adorned with the Metropolitan 
Police Department's patch. I had my badge on, until somebody 
ripped it off my chest. I do not believe I was mistaken for a 
member of Antifa.
    Mr. Raskin. You mentioned in your testimony that there's 
some people who would prefer that all of this go away, that we 
not have an investigation, let's let bygones be bygones. But 
you seem pretty determined to get the country to focus on this. 
Why is that so important to you?
    Officer Fanone. Well, first and foremost, because of the 
actions of officers who responded there that day, specifically 
from my department, but also from the U.S. Capitol Police and 
some of the surrounding jurisdictions. You know, downplaying 
the events of that day is also downplaying those officers' 
response.
    Like Sergeant Gonell said, and some of the officers, part 
of the healing process from recovering from the traumatic 
events of that day is having the Nation accept the fact that 
that day happened.
    Mr. Raskin. Some people were saying that, as public 
servants, you all should not be speaking out; that cops, 
firefighters, teachers should just serve the public but should 
not speak out as citizens. What do you think about that, 
Officer Fanone?
    Officer Fanone. Well, I disagree. I've been outspoken 
throughout my career, never to this magnitude. As an undercover 
officer and a narcotics officer, I've preferred obscurity in 
the public eye. However, this event is something that we have 
not experienced in our lifetimes.
    Mr. Raskin. Officer Hodges, I read your testimony 
carefully. I hope every American reads your testimony. But I 
noted that you referred to ``terrorists'' or ``terrorism'' 15 
different times to describe the people who were assaulting 
officers, dragging them through the crowd, stealing their 
weapons, smashing them over the head, gouging eyes, and so on.
    However, some of our colleagues have been calling the 
violent insurrectionists not terrorists but tourists. Why do 
you call the attackers terrorists, and what do you think about 
our colleagues who think we should call them tourists?
    Officer Hodges. Well, if that's what American tourists are 
like, I can see why foreign countries don't like American 
tourists. But I can see why someone would take issue with the 
title of ``terrorist.'' It's gained a lot of notoriety in our 
vocabulary in the past few decades, and we like to believe 
that, no, that couldn't happen here, no domestic terrorism, no 
home-grown threats.
    But I came prepared. U.S. Code Title 18, part 1, chapter 
113, B as in Brown, section 2331: The term ``domestic 
terrorism'' means activities that involve acts dangerous to 
human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the 
United States or of any State; and B, appear to be intended to 
intimidate or coerce a civilian population; or to influence the 
policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to 
affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, 
assassination, or kidnapping, and occur primarily within the 
territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
    Mr. Raskin. Well, thank you for that.
    I had one final question for Sergeant Gonell, but it looks 
like my time is up, so I yield back to you.
    Chairman Thompson. The Chair will give the gentleman an 
opportunity to ask his question.
    Mr. Raskin. Thank you for your indulgence, Mr. Chairman.
    Are there questions, Sergeant Gonell, that you hope we can 
answer as a Committee about the causes of the attack, the 
nature of the attack, and what happened in the weeks prior to 
January 6th as we develop our work plan moving forward?
    Sergeant Gonell. I think, in my opinion, we do need to get 
to the bottom of who incited, who brought those people here, 
why the people were made to believe that the process was 
rigged, along those lines.
    But going back to what Hodges says, I had, in my 15 years 
of service, I had given a tour to thousands of people at the 
Capitol, as an officer, as a sergeant, and even in plainclothes 
uniform. At no point in time did I ever get attacked.
    I don't know how you call an attack on police officers a 
tour. When you see me bleeding, my hands, when you see all the 
officers getting concussions, getting maimed, getting fingers 
shattered, eye gouged, it's undescribable. You're defending the 
undefensible, and you demoralize, not just the rank and file, 
but the future recruits that we are trying to get.
    What do you think people considering becoming law 
enforcement officers think when they see elected leaders 
downplaying this? Why would I risk my life for them when they 
don't even care? They don't care what happened to the public. 
They don't care what happened to the officers. All they care is 
their job, their position.
    If they don't have the courage to put their job on the line 
because they want to feed some lies or whatnot to feed 
somebody's ego or a ``like'' for a tweet, that's not putting 
the country first.
    We are willing to risk our life, but at least make it worth 
it. We do that regardless, whether you're a Republican, 
Democrat, Independent. We don't care. When radio call or 
dispatch sends a call, we don't ask, ``Hey, by the way, before 
I treat you, before I take care of you, are you a Republican or 
Democrat or Independent?'' We don't. We just respond.
    Normally, under any other circumstances, we just stay shut. 
We don't talk about politics. We don't talk about what happened 
to us. But this is bigger than that. You downplay an event that 
happened to the country itself, to democracy, to the rule of 
law.
    You don't care about people who claim that they are pro-law 
enforcement, pro-police, pro-law and order, and then yet when 
they have the chance and the opportunity to do something about 
it, to hold people accountable, you don't. You pass the bucket 
like nothing happened.
    It's so devastating for recruiting. Yes, we need bodies 
right now, but this makes it harder, especially when we're 
trying to attract the talent that we need, people who are 
willing to risk their lives to protect you guys.
    Mr. Raskin. Well, thank you very much, Sergeant Gonell.
    Mr. Chairman, you know, the question was asked by Officer 
Dunn: Is this America? I think these gentlemen embody the 
spirit of America, and we must do justice to their sacrifice in 
the work of our Committee.
    I yield back.
    Chairman Thompson. No question about it.
    The Chair recognizes the gentlelady from Virginia, Mrs. 
Luria.
    Mrs. Luria. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    I want to say to the four officers here today that I'm 
grateful for your service, for you sharing your stories, for 
your willingness to speak to the Members of this Committee and 
to the American people about the horrific things that you 
experienced on January 6th, truly experienced in defense of our 
democracy.
    Sergeant Gonell, we talked earlier, and you mentioned the 
many times that you took the oath, both to become a naturalized 
citizen, to join the Army, to serve as an officer of the 
Capitol Police force.
    Officer Hodges, you mentioned as well as a National 
Guardsman and as a police officer. And something I can't share 
with you, the horrific experiences that you had that day, but 
all of us having taken that oath, and I took it when I was 17 
and joined the Navy and over 2 decades.
    Sergeant Gonell, when you mentioned and compared this 
earlier to the experiences that you had in Iraq, that in a war 
zone you didn't feel like you felt that day, can you share that 
with us in a little more detail what was going through your 
head, your thoughts about what you had experienced defending 
our Nation on foreign soil and then being here in the heart of 
our Nation in our Capitol and being assaulted the way that you 
were?
    Sergeant Gonell. It is very disappointing in terms of, like 
when I was at the Lower West Terrace, and I saw many officers 
fighting for their lives against people, rioters, our own 
citizens turning against us--people who had the thin blue line 
on their chest, or another rioter with a Marine hat that says 
``veteran,'' or any other type of military paraphernalia or 
whatnot. And then, they're accusing us of betraying the oath 
when they're the ones betraying the oath.
    When I was in Iraq, the sense of camaraderie, it didn't 
matter whether you were white, Black, Spanish, Middle Eastern, 
we all knew what we were fighting for. My experience there--
there were times that yes, I was scared of going on convoys or 
doing my supply mission to local Iraqi population, because at 
any point we were possibly ambushed or getting shot at. We knew 
the risk.
    But here it was simultaneously over, over, and over, our 
own citizens; why they were attacking us, because we're 
defending the very institution that they are claiming that 
they're trying to save.
    Mrs. Luria. Thank you for sharing that. I know it's been 
difficult today as we've watched these images from the Capitol, 
but I did want to share one more video. But this time I would 
ask people, you could even like close your eyes and listen 
without watching, just listen to what is being said as these 
brave men were being overrun.

    Voice. Traitors, how do you live with yourself?
    Voice. Die! Die, traitors!
    Voice. You should be mad too. Fucking traitors!
    Voice. You're on the wrong side of freedom. You're on the wrong 
side!
    Crowd. Fuck-the-blue! Fuck-the-blue! Fuck-the-blue!
    Voice. Fuck you guys! You can't even call yourselves American. You 
broke your fucking oath today. 1776!
    Voice. You're a traitor.
    Crowd. Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!

    Mrs. Luria. So, Officer Fanone, I wanted to turn to you. 
When you hear the rioters chanting things in this video, things 
like, F the blue, you can't even call yourself an American, you 
are on the wrong side of freedom, can you share how that makes 
you feel?
    Officer Fanone. Again, I think--you know, my response that 
day--and at no point that day did I ever think about the 
politics of that crowd. Even the things that were being said 
did not resonate in the midst of that chaos. But what did 
resonate was the fact that thousands of Americans were 
attacking police officers who were simply there doing their 
job, and that they were there to disrupt Members of Congress 
who were doing their job.
    You know, in retrospect now, thinking about those events 
and the things that were said, it's disgraceful that members of 
our Government, I believe, were responsible for inciting that 
behavior and then continue to propagate those statements, 
things like, you know, this was 1776, or that police officers 
who fought risked their lives and some who gave theirs were red 
coats and traitors. To me, those individuals are representative 
of the worst that America has to offer.
    Mrs. Luria. Thank you.
    Thinking about the events that happened on January 6th and 
thinking about what led up to that day, I was reminded of a 
quote, a quote that I frequently heard used from Hemingway that 
asks, you know, how do these things happen? How do things like 
this happen? That quote, it's very short. It just says, 
``gradually and then suddenly.'' I think that our Founders 
understood that our Republic was very fragile and it would be 
tested, and it was tested here on January 6th.
    In 20 years, I don't want to look back on this moment and 
think that we saw these signs coming gradually, that these were 
signs that we ignored--signs that people thought were just 
isolated incidents or signs of things that we thought could 
never happen. I don't want to say to my daughter or, Sergeant 
Gonell, to your son or, Officer Fanone, to your 4 daughters, I 
don't want any of us to say that this happened gradually and 
then suddenly, and that some were just too worried about 
winning the next election to do something about it or too 
cowardly to seek the truth.
    So, that's the task before this Committee. I am sure that 
we'll be attacked by cowards--by those in the arena, those only 
in the stands--and that we'll be attacked by people who are 
more concerned about their own power than about the good of 
this country.
    But my oath, your oath, all of our oaths here today to 
protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, 
foreign and domestic, will be our guiding light for this 
investigation.
    As Officer Dunn said earlier, you said, ``we can never 
again allow our democracy to be put in peril.'' So, I will say 
that we will persevere, we will do what is right, and our 
Nation is truly ever grateful to you who held that line. Your 
actions on January 6th could very well have been what saved our 
democracy, and we thank you.
    Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you.
    The gentleman from Maryland asked a question in terms of 
what you would expect this Committee to do in our body of work. 
Sergeant Gonell responded, but we didn't give the other three 
members an opportunity to kind of tell us, based on the last 
202 days of your life, what would you task this Committee in 
its body of work? What would you like to see us do?
    Officer Fanone, I'll start with you.
    Officer Fanone. Yes, sir. So, while I understand that there 
have been investigations into the events of January 6th, my 
understanding is that those have addressed some of the micro-
level concerns, that being the immediate security of the 
Capitol Building itself, also the force mobilization of 
officers that day, planning and preparation, and training and 
equipment concerns.
    A lot of, you know, the events of January 6th and the days 
preceding, I guess it's interesting, and from a law enforcement 
perspective, as a police officer, a lot of these events 
happened in plain sight. We had violent political rhetoric. We 
had the organization of a rally whose title was ``Stop the 
Steal,'' and that that rally occurred on January 6th, which I 
don't believe was a coincidence that on January 6th Members of 
Congress, you here in the room today, were charged with 
tallying the electoral votes and certifying the election of our 
President.
    In the academy, we learn about time, place, and 
circumstance in investigating potential crimes and those who 
may have committed them. So, the time, the place, and the 
circumstances of that rally, that rhetoric, and those events, 
to me, leads in the direction of our President and other 
Members not only of Congress and the Senate.
    But that is what I am looking for is an investigation into 
those actions and activities which may have resulted in the 
events of January 6th, and also whether or not there was 
collaboration between those Members, their staff, and these 
terrorists.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much.
    Officer Hodges.
    Officer Hodges. I think Fanone hit the nail on the head 
there. As patrol officers, we can only deal with the crimes 
that happen on the streets, the misdemeanors, and occasionally 
the violent felonies. But you guys are the only ones we've got 
to deal with crimes that occur above us.
    I need you guys to address if anyone in power had a role in 
this, if anyone in power coordinated or aided or abetted or 
tried to downplay, tried to prevent the investigation of this 
terrorist attack, because we can't do it. We're not allowed to. 
I think a majority of Americans are really looking forward to 
that as well.
    Chairman Thompson. Thank you.
    Officer Dunn.
    Officer Dunn. Thank you, Chairman. There's been a sentiment 
that's going around that says everybody's trying to make 
January 6th political. Well, it's not a secret that it was 
political. They literally were there to ``stop the steal.'' So, 
when people say it shouldn't be political, it is. It was and it 
is. There's no getting around that.
    Telling the truth shouldn't be hard. Fighting on January 
6th, that was hard. Showing up January 7th, that was hard. The 
8th, the 9th, the 10th, all the way till today, that was hard. 
When the fence came down, that was hard, when we lost our layer 
of protection that we had. The fence came down and still 
nothing has changed. Everything is different but nothing has 
changed.
    Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are being lauded as 
courageous heroes, and while I agree with that notion, why? 
Because they told the truth? Why is telling the truth hard? I 
guess in this America it is. Us four officers, we would do 
January 6th all over again. We wouldn't stay home because we 
knew what was going to happen; we would show up. That's 
courageous. That's heroic.
    So, what I ask from you all is to get to the bottom of what 
happened, and that includes, like I echo the sentiments of all 
of the other officers sitting here. I use an analogy to 
describe what I want as a hit man. If a hit man is hired and he 
kills somebody, the hit man goes to jail. But not only does the 
hit man go to jail, but the person who hired them does. There 
was an attack carried out on January 6th, and a hit man sent 
them. I want you to get to the bottom of that.
    Thank you.
    Chairman Thompson. Well, thank you. Very powerful comments, 
by the way.
    Sergeant Gonell. Chairman Thompson?
    Chairman Thompson. Yes.
    Sergeant Gonell. If I may, I also would like for you guys 
to give us the tools, or at least the things we need, to 
succeed, to continue protecting you guys. I think that's 
essential for you guys to provide us what we need in terms of 
like financially. I don't know. I'm not part of the innuendo 
about how that process works, but perhaps fortifying the 
Capitol, that will help. I know we were literally desperate. If 
we had that, that would have made a big difference on January 
6th.
    I know people want to keep this place open to the public as 
much as possible, but there are things that we could do to 
remediate that and also to reinforce entrances, whatnot. It's 
hard, but it takes will. I could tell the Capitol has some 
regulations, whatnot, but the time has passed. We still have 
security measures from 20 years ago that have to go. We need to 
reinvent the wheel and change that, but only you guys have the 
power to authorize that. They won't do it unless you guys do.
    The other thing is, we still are operating on certain 
things that we could adjust, things that we were doing back 
when 9/11 happened, we're still doing it today, even 6 months 
after the attack on the Capitol. But only you, perhaps with the 
Chief of Police, the new Chief of Police, which he seems 
receptive to some of these changes, perhaps that would change. 
But, just like Officer Dunn said, we're still doing things that 
prior to January 6th we were doing and we're still doing it 
today, and I think that should change.
    Thank you.
    Chairman Thompson. Well, again, I thank all of you for your 
testimony. Obviously you are our real heroes in this situation. 
What you did, in the Committee's opinion, helped preserve this 
democracy. The time you gave for reinforcements to finally get 
to the Capitol made the difference. So, for that we thank you. 
But you carried out your duties at tremendous risk.
    Now we on this Committee have a duty, however a far less 
dangerous one, but an essential one, to get to the bottom of 
what happened that day. We cannot allow what happened on 
January 6th to ever happen again. We owe it to the American 
people. We owe it to you and your colleagues. We will not fail, 
I assure you, in that responsibility.
    Thank you again to our witnesses as well as our 
distinguished colleagues of the Committee.
    Without objection, Members will be permitted 10 business 
days to submit statements for the record, including opening 
remarks and additional questions for witnesses to appropriate 
staff at all meetings of the Select Committee.
    Without objection, the Committee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 1 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]



                            A P P E N D I X

                              ----------                              

Prepared Statement of Aquilino A. Gonell, Sergeant, U.S. Capitol Police
                             July 27, 2021
    Chairman Thompson and Members of the Select Committee, thank you 
for the opportunity to testify regarding the attack on the U.S. Capitol 
on January 6, 2021. It is with honor, and a heavy heart, that I come 
before you to tell you my story, from painful, first-hand experience, 
of what happened that terrible day at the Capitol. I am providing this 
testimony solely in my personal capacity, and not as a representative 
of the U.S. Capitol Police.
    It is imperative that the events of January 6th are fully 
investigated, that Congress and the American people know the truth of 
what actually occurred, and that all those responsible are held 
accountable, particularly to ensure this horrific and shameful event in 
our history never repeats itself. I applaud you for pursuing this 
objective.
    Even though there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, 
including hours and hours of video and photographic coverage, there is 
a continuous and shocking attempt to ignore or try to destroy the truth 
of what truly happened that day, and to whitewash the facts into 
something other than what they unmistakably reveal: An attack on our 
democracy by violent domestic extremists, and a stain on our history 
and our moral standing here at home and abroad.
    As a child in the Dominican Republic, I looked up to the United 
States as a land of opportunity and a place to better myself. From the 
moment I landed at JFK airport in 1992, I have strived to pursue that 
goal. Thankfully, I have achieved that goal on many levels: I was the 
first in my family to graduate college, join the U.S. Army, and become 
a police officer.
    On July 23, 1999, the day before my 21st birthday, I raised my hand 
to give back to the country that gave me an opportunity to be anything 
I wanted. At the time, I had already started basic training with the 
Army Reserve. In fact, I have raised my hand several times in 
ceremonies to pledge my commitment to ``Defend and Protect the 
Constitution of the United States'': When I joined the Army Reserves, 
when I was promoted to Sergeant while in the Army, during my 
naturalization ceremony, when I reenlisted in the Army, when I joined 
the United States Capitol Police, and last when I was promoted to 
sergeant in the U.S. Capitol Police 3 years ago. I have always taken my 
oath seriously.
    On January 6, 2021, I fulfilled my oath once more: This time, to 
defend the United States Capitol and Members of Congress carrying out 
their Constitutional duties to certify the results of the November 2020 
Presidential election.
    To be honest, I did not recognize my fellow citizens who stormed 
the Capitol on January 6, or the United States they claimed to 
represent. When I was 25, and then a sergeant in the Army, I had 
deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. From time to time, I 
volunteered to travel on IED-infested roads to conduct supply missions 
for U.S. and allied military forces and local Iraqi populations. But on 
January 6, for the first time, I was more afraid working at the Capitol 
than during my entire Army deployment to Iraq. In Iraq, we expected 
armed violence, because we were in a war zone. But nothing in my 
experience in the Army, or as a law enforcement officer, prepared me 
for what we confronted on January 6.
    The verbal assaults and disrespect we endured from the rioters were 
bad enough. I was falsely accused of betraying my ``oath'' and of 
choosing my ``paycheck'' over my loyalty to the U.S. Constitution--even 
as I defended the very democratic process that protected everyone in 
that hostile crowd. While I was on the Lower West Terrace at the 
Capitol, working with my fellow officers to prevent a breach and 
restore order, the rioters called me a ``traitor,'' a ``disgrace,'' and 
shouted that I (an Army veteran and police officer) should be 
``executed''. Some of the rioters had the audacity to tell me that it 
was ``nothing personal,'' that they would ``go through'' us to achieve 
their goals as they were breaking metal barriers to use as weapons 
against us. Others used more menacing language: ``If you shoot us, we 
all have weapons, and we will shoot back'', or ``we will get our 
guns''. ``We outnumber you, join us,'' they said. I also heard specific 
threats on the lives of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and then-Vice President 
Mike Pence.
    But the physical violence we experienced was horrific and 
devastating. My fellow officers and I were punched, pushed, kicked, 
shoved, sprayed with chemical irritants, and even blinded with eye-
damaging lasers by a violent mob who apparently saw us law enforcement 
officers, dedicated to ironically protecting them as U.S. citizens, as 
an impediment in their attempted insurrection. The mob brought weapons 
to try to accomplish their insurrectionist objectives, and they used 
them against us. These weapons included hammers, rebars, knives, batons 
and police shields taken by force, as well as, bear spray and pepper 
spray. Some rioters wore tactical gear, including bulletproof vests and 
gas masks. The rioters also forcibly took our batons and shields and 
used them against us. I was particularly shocked at seeing the 
insurrectionists violently attack us with the very American flag they 
claimed they sought to protect. Based on the coordinated tactics we 
observed and verbal commands we heard, it appeared that many of the 
attackers had law enforcement or military experience.
    The rioters were vicious and relentless. We found ourselves in a 
violent battle in a desperate attempt to prevent a breach of the 
Capitol by the entrance near the Inauguration Stage. Metropolitan DC 
Police (``MPD'') officers were being pulled into the crowd as we tried 
to push all the rioters back from breaching Capitol. In my attempt to 
assist two MPD officers, I grabbed one officer by the back of the 
collar and pulled him back to our police line. When I tried to help the 
second officer, I fell on top of some police shields on the ground that 
were slippery because of the pepper and bear spray. Rioters started to 
pull me by my leg, by my shield, and by my gear straps on my left 
shoulder. My survival instincts kicked in and I started kicking and 
punching as I tried in vain to get the MPD officers' attention behind 
and above me. But they could not help me because they were also being 
attacked. I finally was able to hit a rioter who was grabbing me with 
my baton and able to stand. I then continued to fend off new attackers 
as they kept rotating after attacking us.
    What we were subjected to that day was like something from a 
medieval battlefield. We fought hand-to-hand and inch by inch to 
prevent an invasion of the Capitol by a violent mob intent on 
subverting our democratic process. My fellow officers and I were 
committed to not letting any rioters breach the Capitol. It was a 
prolonged and desperate struggle. I vividly heard officers screaming in 
agony and pain just an arms-length from me. One of those officers is 
here today. I, too, was being crushed by the rioters. I could feel 
myself losing oxygen and recall thinking to myself ``this is how I'm 
going to die, trampled defending this entrance.'' Many of the officers 
fighting alongside me were calling for shields, because their shields 
had been stripped from them by the rioters. I was one of the few 
officers left with a shield, so I spent the majority of the time at the 
front of the line.
    I later found out that my wife and relatives here in the United 
States and abroad were frantically calling and texting me from 2 
o'clock p.m. onwards because they were watching the turmoil live on 
television. But it was not until around 4:26 p.m., after giving CPR to 
one of the rioters who breached the Capitol in an effort to save her 
life, that I finally had a chance to let my own family know that I was 
alive.
    After order finally had been restored at the Capitol and after many 
exhausting hours, I arrived home at nearly 4 o'clock a.m. on January 7. 
I had to push away my wife from hugging me because of all the chemicals 
that covered my body. I couldn't sleep because the chemicals 
reactivated after I took a shower, and my skin was still burning. I 
finally fell asleep 2 hours later, completely physically and mentally 
exhausted. Yet by 8 o'clock a.m. that day I was already on my way back 
to the Capitol, and I continued to work for 15 consecutive days until 
after the Inauguration. I made sure to work despite my injuries because 
I wanted to continue doing my job and help secure the Capitol complex. 
Six months later, I am still trying to recover from my injuries.
    Many of my fellow Capitol Police Officers, as well as MPD Officers, 
suffered terrible physical injuries from the violence inflicted on us 
on January 6. I sustained injuries to both of my hands, my left 
shoulder, my left calf, and my right foot. I have already undergone 
fusion surgery on my foot, and I was just told that I need surgery on 
my left shoulder. I have been on medical and administrative leave for 
much of the past 6 months, and I expect to need further rehabilitation 
for possibly more than a year.
    There are some who expressed outrage when someone simply kneeled 
for social justice during the National anthem. Where are those same 
people expressing outrage to condemn the violent attack on law 
enforcement officers, the U.S. Capitol, and our American democracy?
    As America and the world watched in horror what was happening to us 
at the Capitol, we did not receive the timely reinforcements and 
support we needed. In contrast, during the Black Lives Matter protest 
last year, U.S. Capitol Police had all the support we needed and more. 
Why the different response? Were it not for the brave members of the 
MPD and officers for other agencies, I am afraid to think what could 
have happened on January 6. I want to publicly thank all the law 
enforcement agencies that responded to assist that day for their 
courage and support. I especially want to thank those Capitol Police 
Officers who responded on their own.
    Despite being outnumbered, we did our job. Every Member of the 
House of Representatives, Senator, and staff member made it home 
safely. Sadly, as a result of that day, we lost officers--some really 
good officers. But we held the line to protect our democratic process, 
and because the alternative would have been a disaster. We are not 
asking for medals or even recognition. We simply want accountability 
and justice.
    For most people, January 6th happened for a few hours that day. But 
for those of us who were in the thick of it, it has not ended. That day 
continues to be a constant trauma for us literally every day, whether 
because of our physical or emotional injuries, or both. While it has 
not received much attention, sadly many of my colleagues have quietly 
resigned from the Capitol Police because of that day. I am also 
regularly called by the law enforcement officials and prosecutors to 
help identify rioters from photographs and videos. And to be honest, 
physical therapy is painful and hard. I could have lost my life that 
day, but as soon as I recover from my injuries I will continue forward 
and proudly serve my country and the U.S. Capitol Police. As an 
immigrant to the United States, I am especially proud to have defended 
the U.S. Constitution and our democracy on January 6. I hope that 
everyone in a position of authority in our country has the courage and 
conviction to do their part by investigating what happened on that 
terrible day, and why.
    This investigation is essential to our democracy, and I am deeply 
grateful to you for undertaking it. I am happy to assist as I can, and 
answer any questions you have to the best of my ability.
                                 ______
                                 
  Prepared Statement of Michael Fanone, Officer, Metropolitan Police 
                               Department
                             July 27, 2021
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of this Committee, for inviting 
me to provide my eyewitness testimony of the violent assault on our 
Nation's Capitol on January 6, 2021.
    My name is Michael Fanone, and while I have been a sworn officer 
with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC. for almost 2 
decades, my law enforcement career actually began here in this building 
as a United States Capitol Police Officer shortly after 9/11. In part 
because of the 2001 attacks on our country by terrorists, I felt called 
to serve. As a Capitol Police Officer, I was proud to protect this 
institution and the dedicated Members of Congress and their staff who 
work hard each today to uphold our American democracy.
    I remain proud of the work of the Capitol Police and MPD Officers 
who literally commit their lives to protecting the safety of each of 
you, and all of us in this room, in our Nation's Capital.
    After leaving the United States Capitol Police, I became an MPD 
officer serving the residents of Washington, DC. I have spent the 
majority of my nearly 20 years at the Metropolitan Police Department 
working in special mission units whose responsibilities include the 
investigation and arrest of narcotics traffickers and violent 
criminals. I have worked as both an undercover officer and lead case 
officer in many of these investigations.
    In this line of work, it probably won't shock you to know I've 
dealt with some dicey situations. I thought I had seen it all, many 
times over. Yet what I witnessed and experienced on January 6, 2021 was 
unlike anything I had ever seen, experienced, or could have imagined in 
my country. On that day, I participated in the defense of the United 
States Capitol from an armed mob of thousands determined to get inside. 
Because I was among a vastly outnumbered group of law enforcement 
officers protecting the Capitol and the people in it, I was grabbed, 
beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country. I was at 
risk of being stripped of, and killed with, my own firearm as I heard 
chants of, ``Kill him with his own gun!'' I can still hear those words 
in my head now.
    Although I regularly deal with risky situations on the job, nowhere 
in my wildest imagination did I ever expect to be in that situation, or 
sitting before you today talking about it. That experience and its 
aftermath were something that even my extensive law enforcement 
training didn't prepare me for.
    I was just one of hundreds of local police who lined up to protect 
Congress even though we were not assigned to do that. Some have asked 
why we ran to help when we didn't have to. I did that because I simply 
could not ignore what was happening. Like many other officers, I could 
not ignore the numerous calls for help coming from the Capitol Complex. 
I'm a plainclothes officer assigned to the First District Crime 
Suppression Team. But for the first time in nearly a decade, I put on 
my uniform.
    When my partner, Jimmy Albright, and I arrived at the Capitol 
around 3 that afternoon, it was unlike any scene I had ever witnessed. 
Jimmy parked our police vehicle near the intersection of South Capitol 
St. and D St., SE and we walked to the Capitol from there passing the 
Longworth House Office Building. It was eerily quiet and the sidewalks, 
usually filled with pedestrians, were empty. As we made our way to 
Independence Avenue, I could see dozens of empty police vehicles that 
filled the street, police barricades, which had been abandoned, and 
hundreds of angry protesters, many of whom taunted us as we walked 
toward the Capitol building.
    Jimmy and I immediately began to search for an area where we could 
be of most assistance. We first made our way through a door on the 
south side of the Capitol, walking then to the crypt and finally down 
to the Lower West Terrace Tunnel. It was there that I observed a police 
commander struggling to breathe as he dealt with the effects of CS gas 
that lingered in the air. Then I watched him collect himself, 
straighten his cap and trench coat adorned with silver eagles, and 
return to the line. That Commander was Ramey Kyle of the Metropolitan 
Police Department and those images are etched into my memory never to 
be forgotten.
    In the midst of this intense and chaotic scene, Commander Kyle 
remained cool, calm, and collected as he gave commands to his officers. 
``Hold the line,'' he shouted over the roar. Of course, that day ``the 
line'' was the seat of our American government. Despite the confusion 
and stress of the situation, observing Ray's leadership, protecting a 
place I cared so much about, was the most inspirational moment of my 
life. The bravery he and others showed that day are the best examples 
of duty, honor, and service. Each of us who carries a badge should 
bring those core values to our work every day.
    The fighting in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel was nothing short of 
brutal. Here I observed approximately 30 police officers standing 
shoulder-to-shoulder, maybe 4 or 5 abreast, using the weight of their 
own bodies to hold back the onslaught of violent attackers. Many of 
these officers were injured, bleeding, and fatigued. But they continued 
to hold the line.
    As I don't have to tell the Members in this room, the Tunnel is a 
narrow and long hallway. It is not the sort of space where anyone would 
want to be pulled into hand-to-hand combat with an angry mob, although 
the narrowness of the hallway provided what was probably the only 
chance of holding back that crowd from entering your personal offices 
and the House and Senate Chambers.
    In an attempt to assist injured officers, Jimmy and I asked them if 
they needed a break. There were no volunteers. Selflessly, they only 
identified other colleagues who may be in need of assistance.
    The fighting dragged on, and I eventually joined the tactical line 
at the Tunnel's entrance. I can remember looking around and being 
shocked by the sheer number of people fighting us. As my police body-
worn camera shows, thousands upon thousands of people, seemingly 
determined to get past us by any means necessary.
    At some point during the fighting, I was dragged from the line of 
officers into the crowd. I heard someone scream, ``I got one!'' as I 
was swarmed by a violent mob. They ripped off my badge. They grabbed my 
radio. They seized the ammunition that was secured to my body. They 
began to beat me, with their fists and with what felt like hard metal 
objects. At one point I came face-to-face with an attacker who 
repeatedly lunged for me and attempted to remove my firearm. I heard 
chanting from some in the crowd, ``get his gun'' and ``Kill him with 
his own gun.'' I was aware enough to recognize I was at risk of being 
stripped of, and killed with, my own firearm. I was electrocuted, again 
and again and again with a Taser. I'm sure I was screaming, but I don't 
think I could even hear my own voice.
    My body camera captured the violence of the crowd directed toward 
me during those very frightening moments. It's an important part of the 
record for this Committee's investigation and for the country's 
understanding of how I was assaulted and nearly killed as the mob 
attacked the Capitol that day, and I hope that everyone will be able to 
watch it. The portions of the video I've seen remain extremely painful 
for me to watch. But it is essential that everyone understands what 
really happened that tragic day.
    During those moments, I remember thinking that there was a very 
good chance that I would be torn apart or be shot to death with my own 
weapon. I thought of my four daughters who might lose their Dad. I 
remain grateful that no Member of Congress had to go through the 
violent assault that I experienced that day.
    During the assault, I thought about using my firearm on my 
attackers. But I knew that if I did that, I would quickly be 
overwhelmed. And that, in their minds, it would provide them with the 
justification for killing me. So instead, I decided to appeal to any 
humanity they might have. I said as loud as I could manage, ``I've got 
kids.'' Thankfully, some in the crowd stepped in and assisted me.
    Those few individuals protected me from the crowd and inched me 
toward the Capitol until my fellow officers could rescue me. I was 
carried back inside the Capitol Building. What happened afterwards is 
much less vivid to me. I had been beaten unconscious and remained so 
for more than 4 minutes. I know that Jimmy helped evacuate me from the 
building and drove me to MedStar Washington Hospital Center despite 
suffering significant injuries himself. At the hospital, doctors told 
me that I suffered a heart attack, and I was later diagnosed with a 
concussion, traumatic brain injury, and Post-Traumatic 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 horrifying event. And my children continue to deal with the trauma of 
nearly losing their Dad that day.
    What makes that 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 the people in this room. 
But too many are now telling me that Hell doesn't even exist--or that 
Hell actually wasn't all that bad.
    The indifference shown to my colleagues and I is disgraceful. My 
law enforcement career prepared me to cope with some aspects of this 
experience. Being an officer, you know your life is at risk whenever 
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. Those very same Members whose 
lives, offices, staff members I was fighting so desperately to defend.
    I agreed to speak here today, and have talked publicly about what 
happened, because I don't think our response to the insurrection should 
have anything to do with political parties. I know that when my partner 
Jimmy and I suited up on January 6, we didn't care what we or our 
fellow officers believed about politics or what political party any of 
you public servants belonged to. I've worked in this city for 2 decades 
and never cared about those things, no matter who was in office. All 
I've ever cared about is protecting you, and the public, so you can do 
your job in service to this country and for the people you represent.
    I appreciate your time and attention. I look forward to the 
Committee's investigation. I am hopeful that with your commitment, we 
as a country will confront the truth of what happened on January 6th 
and do what is necessary to make sure this institution of our democracy 
never again falls into the hands of a violent and angry mob.
    We must also recognize the officers who responded that day, many 
unsolicited, and their countless acts of bravery and selflessness. It 
has been 202 days since 850 MPD officers responded to the Capitol and 
helped stop a violent insurrection from taking over the Capitol 
Complex, which almost certainly saved countless Members of Congress and 
their staff from injury and possibly even death. The time to fully 
recognize these officers' actions is now.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to provide my testimony today.
                                 ______
                                 
   Prepared Statement of Daniel Hodges, Officer, Metropolitan Police 
                               Department
    Good morning to the Committee, members of the press, and to the 
country.
    To the Members of the Committee, I'd like to thank you for the 
invitation today to provide my account of my knowledge of and 
experiences from January 6th, 2021.
    As the Chairman mentioned I am a member of Civil Disturbance Unit 
42 and was working in that capacity on the day in question. A fully-
staffed CDU platoon consists of 1 lieutenant, 4 sergeants, and 28 
officers. We started that day at 7:30 a.m. and our assignment was to 
maintain high visibility along Constitution Avenue, namely the blocks 
leading up to President's Park, where then-President Donald Trump was 
holding his gathering. My particular station was in front of 1111 
Constitution Avenue, where I stood on foot as the crowd poured down the 
street and into the park.
    There were a significant number of men dressed in tactical gear 
attending the gathering. Wearing ballistic vests, helmets, goggles, 
military face masks, backpacks, and without identifiable, visible law 
enforcement or military patches, they appeared to be prepared for much 
more than listening to politicians speak in a park.
    Two of my colleagues were approached by a group of 3 to 4 of such 
men. The men were white, in good shape, with load-bearing vests 
equipped with MOLLE pouches. They were wearing BDUs, or battle dress 
uniform pants, tactical boots, black sunglasses and short haircuts. 
They had radios and one was equipped with an earpiece.
    After a bit of small talk one of them asked my colleagues something 
to the effect of, ``Is this all the manpower you have? Do you really 
think you're going to be able to stop all these people?'' Dumbfounded, 
my colleagues simply expressed that they didn't understand what the 
speaker meant, and the group continued on.
    As the day went on and the speakers in the park said their piece, I 
monitored the crowd and the radio. Over the radio I heard our Gun 
Recovery Unit working constantly, monitoring those in the crowd 
suspected of carrying firearms and making arrests and seizures when 
possible. Multiple gun arrests were made from January 5th through the 
7th against those attending, planning to attend, or had attended Donald 
Trump's gathering. Unfortunately due to the course of events that day 
we will likely never know exactly how many were carrying firearms and 
other lethal weapons.
    I don't know what time it was, but eventually the flow of foot 
traffic reversed, with people leaving President's Park and traveling 
eastbound down Constitution Avenue toward the United States Capitol.
    At approximately 12:30 p.m. I noticed a commotion about half a 
block to my east, and saw the crowd starting to coalesce around two 
figures. I ran to where they were and found a confrontation at the 
intersection of 10th and Constitution Avenue NW. One counter-protester, 
a Black man, was backpedaling away from a white man in a Trump-labeled 
face mask who was closely following him with an outstretched arm. 
Myself and my colleague arrived first and physically separated the two, 
but a crowd of Donald Trump's people had gathered. They attempted to 
bait the counter-protester into attacking, shouting insults such as 
``You're mother's a whore!'' and accusing him of ``Hiding behind the 
cops.'' Eventually enough MPD members had gathered to move along the 
crowd who continued eastbound toward the Capitol building, and the 
counter-protester departed northbound on 10th Street.
    Returning to my post I continued monitoring the radio. I could hear 
Commander Glover leading the defense efforts at the Capitol as the 
protesters began their transition from peaceful assembly into 
terrorism. I became agitated and wished we could move in to support as 
I could hear the increasing desperation in the Commander's voice, yet 
we still had to wait for our orders to change. Eventually they did, as 
at approximately 1:30 p.m. the Commander authorized rapid response 
platoons to deploy their hard gear and respond to the Capitol, 
including CDU 42.
    The last thing I remember hearing over the air before departing for 
the Capitol grounds was confirmation that our Explosive Ordinance 
Disposal team had discovered a ``device''. Given which unit was being 
associated with this ``device'' I immediately realized MPD had 
discovered a bomb of some type near the Capitol. This thought was never 
far from my mind for the rest of the day.
    We ran back to our vans and got on our hard gear as quickly as we 
could. Navigating alternate routes to avoid the foot traffic, we drove 
as close as we could to the Capitol, disembarking at the northwest side 
of the Capitol grounds. We gave our gear a final check and marched 
toward the West Terrace.
    The crowd was thinner the further out from the Capitol you were, so 
as we marched the resistance we initially met was verbal. A man 
sarcastically yelled ``Here come the boys in blue! So brave!'' Another 
called on us to ``remember your oath.'' There was plenty of boo-ing. A 
woman called us ``stormtroopers''. Another woman, who was part of the 
mob of terrorists laying siege to the Capitol of the United States, 
shouted ``Traitors!'' More found appeal in the label, and shout 
``Traitors!'' at us as we pass; one man attempted to turn it into a 
duosyllabic chant. We continue to march.
    We had been marching in two columns, but as we got closer to the 
West Terrace the crowd became so dense that in order to progress we 
marched single-file, with our hands on the shoulders of the man in 
front of us in order to avoid separation. However as we came close to 
the terrace our line was divided and we came under attack. A man 
attempted to rip my baton from my hands and we wrestled for control. I 
retained my weapon and after I pushed him back, he yelled at me 
``You're on the wrong team!''
    Cut off from our leadership at the font of our formation we huddled 
up and assessed the threat surrounding us. One man tried and failed to 
build a rapport with me, shouting, ``Are you my brother?!'' Another 
takes a different tack, shouting ``You will die on your knees!''
    I was at the front of our group and determined we had to push our 
way through the crowd in order to join the defense proper, so I began 
shouting ``Make way!'' as I forged ahead, hoping that I'm clearing a 
path for the others to follow. However as I looked back I saw that the 
rest of the group came under attack and were unable to follow. The 
crowd attempted to physically bar the rest of the platoon from 
following. I backtrack and started pulling terrorists off of my team by 
their backpacks. Around this time one of the terrorists who had scaled 
the scaffolding that adorned the Capitol at the time threw something 
heavy down at me and struck me in the head, disorienting me (I suspect 
this resulted in the likely concussion I dealt with in the weeks 
after). Another man attempted to disarm me of my baton again, and we 
wrestled for control. He kicked me in my chest as we went to the 
ground. I was able to retain my baton again, but I ended up on my hands 
and knees and blind; the medical mask I was wearing to protect myself 
from the coronavirus was pulled up over my eyes so I couldn't see. I 
braced myself against the impact of their blows and feared the worst. 
Thankfully my platoon had repelled their own attackers and got me back 
on my feet. The crowd started chanting ``U-S-A!'' at us, and we struck 
out again for the West Terrace.
    I lead the charge again through the midst of crowd-control 
munitions, explosions, and smoke engulfing the area. Terrorists were 
breaking apart metal fencing and bike racks into individual pieces, 
presumably to use as weapons. Thankfully we made it to the secondary 
defense line on the West Terrace that MPD and Capitol Police were 
managing to hold. The rest of my platoon got behind the line and we 
take stock of the situation. I realized that back during the previous 
assault someone had stolen my radio; from that point on I was in the 
dark as to our current status and when reinforcements would arrive. 
Terrorists were scaling the scaffolding on both our sides, the tower 
that was in front of us, and attempting to breach the waist-high metal 
fencing that was the only barrier we had, aside from ourselves.
    The sea of people was punctuated throughout by flags. Lots of 
American flags and Trump flags. Gadsden flags. It was clear the 
terrorists perceived themselves to be Christians: I saw the Christian 
flag directly to my front. Another read ``Jesus is my Savior, Trump is 
my President.'' Another, ``Jesus is King.'' One flag read, ``Don't give 
up the ship''. Another had crossed rifles beneath a skull emblazoned 
with the pattern of the American flag. To my perpetual confusion, I saw 
the Thin Blue Line flag, a symbol of support for law enforcement, more 
than once being carried by the terrorists as they ignored our commands 
and continued to assault us.
    The acrid sting of CS gas (tear gas) and OC spray (mace) hung in 
the air, as the terrorists threw our own CS gas canisters back at us 
and sprayed us with their own OC, either that they brought themselves 
or stole from us. Later I learned that at least one of them was 
spraying us in the face with wasp spray.
    The terrorists alternated between attempting to break our defenses 
and shouting at or attempting to convert us. Men alleging to be 
veterans told us how they had fought for this country and were fighting 
for it again. One man tried to start a chant of ``Four-more-years!'' 
Another shouted ``Do not attack us! We are not `Black Lives Matter!' '' 
as if political affiliation is how we determine when to use force. A 
man in a ``QAnon'' hoodie exclaims, ``This is the time to choose what 
side of history to be on!'' A man whose shirt reads ``God Guns & 
Trump'' stood behind him, silently holding a Trump flag.
    A new man came to the front and fixated on me, continually berated 
me, telling me to take off my gear and give it to him: ``Show 
solidarity with `we the people' or we're going to run over you!'' his 
voice cracked with the strain and volume of his threats. He continued, 
``Do you think your little pea-shooter guns are going to stop this 
crowd? No! We're going in that building!''
    Eventually there is a surge in the crowd, the fence buckled and 
broke apart and we were unable to hold the line. A chaotic melee 
ensued. Terrorists pushed through the line and engaged us in hand-to-
hand combat. Several attempted to knock me over and steal my baton. One 
latched onto my face and got his thumb in my right eye, attempting to 
gouge it out. I cried out in pain and managed to shake him off before 
any permanent damage was done. I couldn't engage anyone fully for the 
moment I do is when another 20 terrorists move in to attack while I am 
occupied. It's all we could do to keep ourselves on our feet and 
continue to fall back. I'm sprayed with a fire extinguisher and a red 
smoke grenade burned at our feet.
    In the fight a terrorist is knocked to the ground and his jacket 
rides up, exposing a large hunting knife on his belt. I along with 
several other officers piled on him while another removed the knife 
from his person. He regained himself, unharmed, and shouts indignantly, 
``What are you doing! What are you guys doing!''
    The terrorists had claimed most of the western terrace, cornering 
myself and other officers on the southern edge. We took a side stair 
off the terrace, up to an upper landing, followed by more stairs up and 
inside.
    Inside the Capitol building officers walked through the halls 
briefly until they found a place to sit, decontaminate their faces of 
OC and CS, and take a quick breather. I followed suit. Someone had 
managed to find a package of water bottles and was passing them out. I 
washed off my face as best as I could, rinsed out my mouth and drank 
the rest. I took the opportunity of relative safety to don my gas mask. 
Not long afterward I heard someone calling for officers to move to 
assist. I steeled myself for another round and descended a stairway 
into a long hallway filled with smoke and screams.
    The Capitol building is labyrinthine, but judging from the sound of 
intense combat I could tell this hallway led outside to where the 
terrorists had forced our retreat. Officers were stacked deep, but 
every so often one would fall back from the front line, nursing an 
injury or struggling to breathe, and those who remained would take a 
step forward.
    It was a battle of inches, with one side pushing the other a few 
and then the other side regaining their ground. At the time I (and I 
suspect many others in the hallway) did not know that the terrorists 
had gained entry to the building by breaking in doors and windows 
elsewhere, so we believed ours to be the last line of defense before 
the terrorists had true access to the building, and potentially our 
elected representatives.
    Eventually it was my turn in the meat grinder that was the front 
line. The terrorists had a wall of shields that they had stolen from 
officers, as well as stolen batons and whatever other armaments they 
brought. Even during this intense contest of wills they continued to 
try to convert us to their cult. One man shouted ``We just want to make 
our voices heard! And I think you feel the same! I really think you 
feel the same!'', all while another man attempts to batter us with a 
stolen shield. Another man, like many others, didn't seem to appreciate 
that this wasn't a game. He fought his way across the lawn, up the 
steps, through the western terrace, and at the front line of this final 
threshold was asking us to ``hold on'' because he ``has asthma''.
    The two sides were at a stalemate at a metal door frame that sat in 
the middle of the hallway. At the front line, I inserted myself so that 
the frame was at my back in an effort to give myself something to brace 
against and provide additional strength when pushing forward. 
Unfortunately soon after I secured this position the momentum shifted 
and we lost the ground that got me there. On my left was a man with a 
clear riot shield stolen during the assault. He slammed it against me 
and, with the weight of all the bodies pushing behind him, trapped me. 
My arms were pinned and effectively useless, trapped against the either 
the shield on my left or the door frame on my right. With my posture 
granting me no functional strength or freedom of movement, I was 
effectively defenseless and gradually sustaining injury from the 
increasing pressure of the mob.
    Directly in front of me a man seized the opportunity of my 
vulnerability. He grabbed the front of my gas mask and used it to beat 
my head against the door. He switched to pulling it off my head, the 
straps stretching against my skull and straining my neck. He never 
uttered any words I recognized, but opted instead for guttural screams. 
I swear I remember him foaming at the mouth. He also put his cell phone 
in his mouth so that he had both hands free to assault me. Eventually 
he succeeded in stripping away my gas mask, and a new rush of exposure 
to CS gas and OC spray hit me. The mob of terrorists were coordinating 
their efforts now, shouting ``Heave! Ho!'' as they synchronized pushing 
their weight forward, crushing me further against the metal door frame. 
The man in front of me grabbed my baton that I still held in my hands 
and in my current state I was unable to retain my weapon. He bashed me 
in the head and face with it, rupturing my lip and adding additional 
injury to my skull.
    At this point I knew that I couldn't sustain much more damage and 
remain upright. At best I would collapse and be a liability to my 
colleagues, at worst be dragged out into the crowd and lynched. Unable 
to move or otherwise signal the officers behind me that I needed to 
fall back, I did the only thing I could still do and screamed for help.
    Thankfully my voice was heard over the cacophony of yells and the 
blaring alarm. The officer closest to me was able to extricate me from 
my position and another helped me fall back to the building again.
    I found some water and decontaminated my face as best as I could. I 
don't know how long I waited in the halls but soon after got back on my 
feet and went to where the fight was again. Until reinforcements 
arrived every able body made a difference.
    Without my gas mask I was afraid I'd be a liability in the hallway 
so I took the exit outside to the upper landing above the West Terrace. 
I found a police line being held and the terrorists encircling us, much 
like on the West Terrace. It was getting later in the day however, and 
it appeared we weren't the only ones getting tired. It seemed most of 
the mob was content to yell rather than to break our line again.
    After some time of guarding the upper landing I saw reinforcements 
arrive from the south. I'm not sure which law enforcement agency it was 
but I turned to them and started clapping, as it was a sign that badly-
needed help was starting to finally arrive.
    Soon after that I started feeling the effects of the day taking 
their toll, and I went back inside to rest. Gradually all the members 
of CDU 42 gathered in the room known as the Capitol Crypt. We checked 
on each other and convalesced, glad to see each other in one piece. 
Despite our exhaustion, we all would have ran out to the fight again 
should the need have arisen. Thankfully as the day wore on, more and 
more resources arrived at the Capitol to drive off the terrorists. We 
stayed in the Crypt until quite late, and even after we were allowed to 
leave the grounds we didn't get to go home. Those who needed immediate 
medical attention took a van to the local hospital while the rest of us 
parked near the city center until the city was deemed secure enough for 
us to check off. I believe we finally got that message around 1 a.m. 
the following morning. We drove back to the Fourth district and from 
there went home.
                                 ______
                                 
Prepared Statement of Harry A. Dunn, Private First Class, U.S. Capitol 
                                 Police
                             July 27, 2021
    Chairman Thompson and Members of the Select Committee, thank you 
for the opportunity today to give my account regarding the events of 
January 6, 2021, from my first-hand experience as a Capitol Police 
Officer directly involved in those events, and still hurting from what 
happened that day. I am providing this testimony solely in my personal 
capacity, and not as a representative of the U.S. Capitol Police.
    I reported for duty at the Capitol, as usual, early on the morning 
of January 6. We understood that the vote to certify President Biden's 
election would be taking place that day, and that protests might occur 
outside the Capitol, but we expected any demonstrations to be peaceful 
expressions of First Amendment freedoms, just like the scores of 
demonstrations we had observed for many years. After roll call, I took 
my overwatch post on the East Front of the Capitol, standing on the 
steps that lead to the Senate chamber. As the morning progressed, I did 
not see or hear anything that gave me cause for alarm.
    But around 10:56 am, I received a text message from a friend 
forwarding a screen shot of what appeared to be a potential plan of 
action very different from a peaceful demonstration. The screen shot 
bore the caption ``Jan. 6th--Rally Point--Lincoln Park,'' and said the 
``objective'' was ``THE CAPITAL.'' It said, among, other things, that 
``Trump has given us marching orders,'' and to ``keep your guns 
hidden.'' It urged people to ``bring . . . your trauma kits'' and ``gas 
mask,'' to ``[l]ink up early in the day'' in ``6-12 man teams,'' and 
indicated there would be a ``time to arm up.'' Seeing that message 
caused me concern, to be sure, and looking back now, it seemed to 
foreshadow what happened later. At the time, though, we had not 
received any threat warnings from our chain of command, and I had no 
independent reason to believe that violence was headed our way.
    As the morning progressed, the crowd of protestors began to swell 
on the east side of the Capitol, many displaying ``Trump'' flags. The 
crowd was chanting slogans like ``Stop the Steal!'' and ``We want 
Trump!'' But the demonstration was still being conducted in a peaceful 
manner.
    Early that afternoon, Capitol Police dispatch advised all units 
over the radio that we had an ``active 10-100'' at the Republican 
National Committee nearby. ``10-100'' is police code for a suspicious 
package, such as a potential bomb. That radio dispatch got my attention 
and I started to get more nervous and worried, especially because the 
crowds on the East Front of the Capitol were continuing to grow. Around 
the same time, I started receiving reports on the radio about large 
crowd movements around the Capitol, coming from the direction of the 
Ellipse to both the West and East Fronts of the Capitol. Then I heard 
urgent radio calls for additional officers to respond to the west side, 
and an exclamation, in a desperate voice, that demonstrators on the 
west side had ``breached the fence!''
    Now it was obvious that there was an active threat to the Capitol. 
I quickly put on a steel chest plate (which weighs about 20 pounds) 
and, carrying my M-4 rifle, sprinted around the north side of the 
Capitol to the West Terrace and the railing of the Inaugural stage, 
where I had a broad view of what was going on. I was stunned by what I 
saw. In what seemed like a sea of people, Capitol Police Officers and 
Metropolitan DC Police (``MPD'') officers were engaged in desperate 
hand-to-hand fighting with rioters across the west lawn. Until then, I 
had never seen anyone physically assault a Capitol Police or MPD 
Officer--let alone witness mass assaults being perpetrated on law 
enforcement officers. I witnessed the rioters using all kinds of 
weapons against the officers, including flag poles, metal bike racks 
they had torn apart, and various kinds of projectiles. Officers were 
being bloodied in the fighting, many were screaming, and many were 
blinded and coughing from chemical irritants being sprayed in their 
faces. I gave decontamination aid to as many officers as I could, 
flushing their eyes with water to dilute the chemical irritants.
    Soon thereafter, I heard an ``Attention, all units!'' radio 
dispatch that the Capitol had been breached, and that rioters were in 
various places inside the building. At that point, I rushed into the 
Capitol with another officer, going first to the basement on the Senate 
side where I had heard an MPD officer needed a defibrillator. After 
returning outside to the West Terrace to assist officers, I went back 
into the Capitol and up the stairs to the Crypt. There, I saw rioters 
who had invaded the Capitol carrying a Confederate flag, a red ``MAGA'' 
flag, and a ``Don't Tread on Me'' flag.
    I decided to stand my ground there to prevent any rioters from 
heading down the stairs to the Lower West Terrace entrance, because 
that was where officers were getting decontamination aid and were 
particularly vulnerable. At the top of the stairs, I confronted a group 
of the insurrectionists, warning them not to go down. One of them 
shouted ``Keep moving, Patriots!'' Another, displaying what looked like 
a law enforcement badge, told me ``We're doing this for you!'' One of 
the invaders approached like he was about to try and get past me and 
head down the stairs, and I hit him, knocking him down.
    After getting relieved by other officers in the Crypt, I took off 
running upstairs toward the Speaker's Lobby, and helped a plain-clothes 
officer who was being hassled by insurrectionists. Some of them were 
dressed like members of a militia group, wearing tactical vests, cargo 
pants, and body armor. I was physically exhausted, and it was hard to 
breathe and see because of all the chemical spray in the air.
    More and more insurrectionists were pouring into the area by the 
Speaker's Lobby near the Rotunda, some wearing ``MAGA'' hats and shirts 
that said ``Trump 2020.'' I told them to leave the Capitol, and in 
response, they yelled back: ``No, no, man, this is our house!'' 
``President Trump invited us here!'' ``We're here to stop the steal!'' 
``Joe Biden is not the President!'' ``Nobody voted for Joe Biden!''
    I am a law enforcement officer, and I keep politics out of my job. 
But in this circumstance, I responded: ``Well, I voted for Joe Biden. 
Does my vote not count? Am I nobody?''
    That prompted a torrent of racial epithets. One woman in a pink 
``MAGA'' shirt yelled, ``You hear that, guys, this nigger voted for Joe 
Biden!'' Then the crowd, perhaps around 20 people, joined in, screaming 
``Boo! Fucking Nigger!''
    No one had ever--ever--called me a ``nigger'' while wearing the 
uniform of a Capitol Police Officer. In the days following the 
attempted insurrection, other Black officers shared with me their own 
stories of racial abuse on January 6th. One officer told me he had 
never, in his entire 40 years of life, been called a ``nigger'' to his 
face, and that that streak ended on January 6th. Yet another Black 
officer later told he had been confronted by insurrectionists inside 
the Capitol, who told him to ``Put your gun down and we'll show you 
what kind of nigger you really are!''
    To be candid, the rest of that afternoon is a blur. But I know I 
went throughout the Capitol to assist other officers who needed aid, 
and to help expel more insurrectionists. In the Crypt, I encountered 
Sergeant Gonell, who was giving assistance to an unconscious woman who 
had been in the crowd of rioters on the west side of the Capitol. I 
helped to carry her to the House Majority Leader's office, where she 
was administered CPR. As the afternoon wore on, I was completely 
drained both physically and emotionally, and in shock and disbelief 
over what had happened. Once the building was cleared, I went to the 
Rotunda to recover with other officers and share our experiences from 
that afternoon. Rep. Rodney Davis was there offering support to 
officers, and when he and I saw each other he came over and gave me a 
big hug.
    I sat down on a bench with a friend of mine who is also a Black 
Capitol Police Officer, and told him about the racial slurs I had 
endured. I became very emotional and began yelling ``How the 
[expletive] can something like this happen?! Is this America?'' I began 
sobbing, and officers came over to console me.
    Later on January 6th, after order and security had been restored in 
the Capitol through the hard work and sacrifices of law enforcement, 
Members took to the floor of the House to speak out about what had 
happened that day. Among them was House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, 
who--along with my fellow officers--I had protected that day, and will 
protect today and tomorrow. And the Minority Leader, to his great 
credit, said the following to the House: ``The violence, destruction, 
and chaos we saw earlier was unacceptable, undemocratic, and un-
American. It was the saddest day I've ever had serving in this 
institution.'' Members of this Select Committee, the Minority Leader 
was absolutely right that day in how he described what took place at 
the Capitol. And for those of us in the Capitol Police who serve and 
revere this institution, and who love the Capitol building, it was the 
saddest day for us as well.
    More than 6 months later, January 6th still isn't over for me. I 
have had to avail myself of multiple counseling sessions from the 
Capitol Police Employee Assistance Program, and I am now receiving 
private counseling therapy for the persistent emotional trauma of that 
day. I have also participated in many peer support programs with fellow 
law enforcement officers from around the United States. I know so many 
other officers continue to hurt, both physically and emotionally.
    I want to take this moment and speak to my fellow officers about 
the emotions they are continuing to experience from the events of 
January 6th. There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking 
professional counseling. What we all went through that day was 
traumatic, and if you are hurting please take advantage of the 
counseling services that are available to us. I also respectfully ask 
this Select Committee to review the services available to us and 
consider whether they are sufficient to meet our needs, especially with 
respect to the amount of leave we are allowed.
    In closing, we can never again allow our democracy to be put in 
peril as it was on January 6th. I thank the Members of this Select 
Committee for your commitment to determine what led to the disaster at 
the Capitol on January 6th, what actually took place at the Capitol 
that day, and what steps should be taken to prevent such an attack on 
our democracy from ever happening again.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I would be 
happy to answer any questions you may have.

                                 [all]