Capitol riot: Officer attacked by mob describes ‘medieval battle scene’ ahead of final hearing | U.S. News

During the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which an officer on duty described as a “medieval battle scene”, he was beaten and electrocuted before suffering a heart attack.

Michael Fanone told Sky News he thought he was going to die after being separated from his colleagues and “being hit from all directions”.

The Jan. 6 hearing, the last of which will be held today, will be important to find the root cause of the violence and determine whether the former president is coordinating, the former official said. Donald Trump.

The committee has collected a surprising number of riots on January 6, including transcripts of more than 1,000 interviews and millions of other documents. The final report is expected in December.

Recalling the events of that day in 2021, Fanone said he and his partner, Jimmy Albright, headed to the Capitol after hearing a distress call from police at the scene.

He told Sky News: “We went to the Lower West Side patio and the president-elect walked out of the Capitol to the inaugural stage where he was sworn in.

“The climax of the fighting that day was in that place where about 40 or 50 D.C. police officers and several US Capitol police officers tried to prevent thousands of angry insurgents from entering the Capitol.

“It’s only as wide as about four or five officers standing side by side, maybe 200 to 250 feet long, and these officers are fighting for their lives.

Michael Fanone
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Former police officer Michael Fanone speaks to Sky News about being attacked during riots

“When I got there, (the police) had been fighting for about 90 minutes. I saw my colleagues were exhausted and injured, and I felt like, because I just got there, I was fresh and I was going to go my own way. Come to the front.

“We used chemical agitators, CS gas, bear spray, and many different types of weapons on us – from aluminum baseball bats, metal poles, scaffolding, riot shields and other police weapons taken from police. There were also guns at the scene.

“There was a lot of screaming and yelling. It was literally just body-to-body, police pressing on the thugs, trying to push them away, or forcing them out of the tunnel entrance.

“If you imagine a rugby game – the police are standing side by side, these thugs press on us, like a medieval battle scene. You can’t swipe a credit card between two people.

“Apart from my work belt and my service weapon, the only gear I carry around is a helmet and a riot shield that covers your face.

“I was pulled from the police line into the crowd, where I was beaten and hit with a taser at the base of my skull. It was very painful, especially when it was repeated in a row for a short period of time. As a result, I suffered a heart attack Sickness and traumatic brain injury.”

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U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) looks on during a public hearing of a U.S. House of Representatives select committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 21, 2022.  REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
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U.S. Congresswoman Liz Cheney at a Jan. 6 committee hearing

Mr Fanone continued: “Once I got out of the crowd, I remember being hit with fists and metal objects from all directions. I do remember, at one point, I yelled that I had kids, trying to attract the humanity of some people in the crowd. , I was being hit by a Taser.

“The only thing I could think about was how to survive in this situation. I thought about using lethal force (weapons), but I quickly concluded that probably wouldn’t lead to my survival. There were thousands of thugs, There are special police protocols that govern how we use lethal force.

“While I may be authorized to use lethal force against some of these people, I do not intend to use force against these people, but it is possible that some people will be injured or even killed. I am also concerned that my gun is stripped from me.

“I chose to try and appeal to people’s humanity, use some psychological warfare, and say ‘I have kids’. Some thugs did offer me some help.

“There were other thugs competing with them for the ability to get close to me and keep attacking me, so it was a strange dynamic for a few minutes before I was able to be rescued by my colleagues.”

A video of former U.S. President Donald Trump appears on screen during a public hearing of a U.S. House of Representatives select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 21, 2022.REUTERS/Evelyn Hawkstein
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A segment of Donald Trump was played during one of the hearings

Fanone, 42, said he thought his life was in danger as soon as he saw the state of the Capitol.

“When I first walked into the tunnel, I thought the situation was probably a lot more dangerous than I realised and there was a good chance I would lose my life,” he said.

The former police officer, now a law enforcement analyst, has testified before a House committee established to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Ahead of the final hearing, Mr Fanone, who wrote a book called ‘Keep It Up’, said: “The hearing is important because we need to investigate, not only the crimes committed but the root causes. .or January 6th.

“Is there any coordination with elected members of our administration, with members of the Trump administration, or with the former president himself?

“I don’t know if you can change everyone’s thinking about the reality of that day and who is responsible for it, but what you can do is make sure that those who break the law are punished accordingly.

“That’s why our republic is built on the rule of law — it’s the great equalizer.”

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