A U.S. Capitol police officer injured in the Jan. 6 insurrection fears that chaotic assault could become a regular occurrence.
Sgt. Aquilino Gonell told Congress in July that he believed he would be killed by angry Donald Trump supporters during the riot, and he told NPR that he and his colleagues are worried it will happen again -- and again.
"A lot of the officers have in mind the possibility of this being a recurring annual or every four-year thing, which is why officers like myself are being outspoken about it, because we don't want to go through this again," Gonell said. "It's mind-boggling to hear some of the things that are coming from some of these elected officials. But at the end of the day, our job is to make them safe and make their work environment safer, regardless of our opinion or political affiliation."
Gonell returned to work 10 months after the riot in an administrative role due to a shoulder injury he suffered in the assault, but he said the memories of that day still haunt him -- as they did recently, when he was stopped in his tracks by the sounds of a construction crew taking down some scaffolding.
"Every time that those metal rods hit the ground, it triggered me," Gonell said. "It brought me back to Jan. 6. That particular sound was something I was hearing when they were breaking the barriers to use as projectiles to hit us."
He's still angry with the members of Congress who voted against the certification of President Joe Biden's election win and continue to promote Donald Trump's election lies.
"We risked our lives to give them enough time to get to safety and, allegedly, some of them were in communication with some of the rioters and with some of the coordinators or in the know of what would happen," Gonell said, "and it makes you question their motives and their loyalty for the country, as we were battling the mob in a brutal battle where I could have lost my life and my dear fellow officers, as well."
Gonell bitterly noted that some of the rioters were sentenced to less jail time than it took him to recover from his injuries, and he's angry that former vice president Mike Pence has downplayed the insurrection that could have cost his own life.
"We did everything possible to prevent him [Pence] from being hanged and killed in front of his daughter and his wife," Gonell said, "and now he's telling us that that one day in January doesn't mean anything."
"It's pathetic," he added. "It's a disgrace. He swore an oath to the country, not to Donald Trump."
Pence: \u201cthat one day in January\u201d. This happened to me giving him and others time to escape to safely so he wouldn\u2019t get hanged/executed. To some, my efforts and injuries are just an exaggeration. THEY did this to me. This why it matters to me and should matters to you.pic.twitter.com/8pg2fL7F8y— Staff Sergeant Gonell, Aquilino (@Staff Sergeant Gonell, Aquilino) 1640889807
