'Shocking and angering': Officers who defended Capitol on J6 slam Trump for debate remarks

28 June 2024

Two U.S. Capitol police officers who battled insurrectionists on January 6, 2021 are condemning former President Donald Trump's response to moderators' questions about the Capitol riot.

During a Friday interview with CNN, former Capitol police officers Harry Dunn and Sgt. Aquilino Gonell blasted the 45th president of the United States for his refusal to take responsibility for his part in fomenting the deadliest attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812. Dunn said that for him, the moment that stood out the most in Thursday night's debate was Trump refusing to say definitively that he would accept the results of the 2024 election regardless of the outcome.

"He eventually said he would accept it if it was fair, but over 60 courts ruled that it was fair and he still didn't accept it," Dunn said. "So what is the category that defines it as fair? That's what was most shocking and angering about last night, because he's already planting the seeds that could lead to another January 6."

Sgt. Gonell said that he was struck by Trump's pivoting on the issue when moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper pressed him, saying the former president "doesn't take responsibility for what happened, even though he's the one who incited the mob to the Capitol." When he was asked what he thought of President Joe Biden's poorly received debate performance, Gonell didn't waver, arguing Trump was a far bigger threat.

"I'm supporting somebody who doesn't send a mob to kill me and my colleagues at the Capitol, someone who is not dangling pardons for the people who assaulted police officers and somebody who is not trying to upend democracy," Gonell said.

"It's very upsetting that the people we risked our lives for, like Speaker Mike Johnson, about two weeks ago, received him with open arms like he was a hero," Gonell added. "And the only reason why they are alive today is because of the actions of police officers like myself and my colleagues."

Both Dunn and Gonell — who are no longer with the U.S. Capitol Police Department — have been surrogates for Biden on the campaign trail throughout the 2024 cycle. They have both insisted that their experience doing battle with Trump supporters at the Capitol on January 6th has cemented their determination to keep the ex-president out of office.

However, despite Republicans making their support for law enforcement a key plank of past campaigns, that hasn't always led to warm receptions for the two former Capitol police officers. During a visit to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives earlier this month, Republicans were heard booing Dunn and Gonell after they were officially recognized by the speaker.

Voters will also have the events of January 6 in their minds as they cast their ballots in the 2024 election. A January 2024 poll by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland found that 55% of voters say the Capitol insurrection was an "attack on democracy that should never be forgotten." That same month, a CBS News/YouGov survey found that 78% of respondents said they disapprove of the actions of the rioters who forced their way into the Capitol building.

Watch Dunn and Gonell's remarks below, or by clicking this link.

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