“This is how I’m going to die, defending this entrance,” Capitol Police Officer Aquilino Gonell recalled thinking, testifying at the emotional opening hearing of the congressional panel investigating the violent Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Officer Gonell told House investigators he could feel himself losing oxygen as he was crushed by rioters – supporters of then-President Donald Trump – as he tried to hold them back and protect the Capitol and lawmakers.
He and three other officers gave their accounts of the attack Tuesday, sometimes wiping away tears, sometimes angrily rebuking those who have resisted the probe.
Along with graphic video of hand-to-hand fighting, the officers described being beaten as they held off the mob that broke through windows and doors and interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential win. The new committee is launching its probe with a focus on the law enforcement officers who protected them — putting a human face on the violence of the day.
Tensions on Capitol Hill have only worsened since the riot, with many Republicans playing down the violence that occurred as overhyped by the media and denouncing the Democratic-led investigation as politically motivated. Democrats insist it was a brutal insurrection, and want to show how the law enforcement officers who were sworn to protect the Capitol suffered serious injuries at the hands of some of the rioters.
The officers detailed the horror of their experiences, their injuries and the lasting trauma as they begged the lawmakers to investigate the attack.
“I feel like I went to hell and back to protect them and the people in this room,” Fanone testified.
Pounding his fist on the table in front of him, he said, “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.”
The lawmakers on the committee, too, grew emotional as they played videos of the violence and repeatedly thanked the police for protecting them. Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida told them she was hiding near an entrance they were defending that day and “I shudder to think what would have happened had you not held that line.”
Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the panel, shed tears during his questioning. He said he hadn’t expected to become so emotional.
“I think it’s important to tell you right now that you guys may individually feel a little broken,” Kinzinger told the officers. “You guys all talk about the effects you have to deal with and you talk about the impact of that day. But you guys won. You guys held.”
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the panel’s other Republican appointed by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, expressed “deep gratitude for what you did to save us” and raised broader, larger issues.
“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, respect the rulings of our courts, and preserve the peaceful transition of power?”
“Or will we be so blinded by partisanship that we throw away the miracle of America?”
The House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, withdrew the participation of the Republicans he had appointed last week after Pelosi rejected two of them, saying their “antics” in support of Trump weren’t appropriate for the serious investigation. Monday evening, the House voted against a resolution offered by the GOP leader to force his chosen members onto the panel.
McCarthy has stayed close to Trump since he left office and has threatened to pull committee assignments from any Republican who participates on the Jan. 6 panel. He has called Cheney and Kinzinger “Pelosi Republicans.”
Ahead of the hearing on Tuesday, McCarthy again called the process a “sham” and said Pelosi only wanted the questions asked “that she wants asked.”
McCarthy told reporters that Pelosi should be investigated for her role in the security failures of the day but ignored questions about Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who had identical authority over the Capitol Police and Capitol security officials.
Outside of a committee preparation session for the hearing on Monday, Kinzinger told reporters that “for too long, we’ve been pretending that Jan. 6 didn’t happen” and that “when you have lies and misinformation that continue to thrive, it’s essential for us as members of Congress to get to the answers.”
You can see their emotional interviews here —
The Associated Press contributed to this article