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Police officers to storm the US Capitol: "Like something from a medieval battle"

2021-07-27T16:49:19.842Z


On January 6, Trump supporters stormed the Washington Capitol. Several police officers have now described their experiences of the attack in front of the investigative committee. They report blows, kicks and fear of death.


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Aquilino Gonell in front of the investigative committee: The police officer sustained various physical injuries in the attack on the Capitol and is still being treated

Photo: Chip Somodevilla / POOL / EPA

The pictures went around the world and caused horror: On January 6, an angry mob stormed the US Capitol in Washington.

At the first hearing of the committee of inquiry into the attack, several police officers have now described how they experienced the brutal attack by supporters of then President Donald Trump.

One of the officials, Aquilino Gonell, said at the House Committee meeting that he thought he was going to die that January day.

He described the outbreak of violence "like something out of a medieval battle".

The officers had to use their hands to defend themselves centimeter by centimeter against the violent mob.

He and his colleagues were beaten and kicked, maltreated with hammers and sticks, and chemicals sprayed.

Five people were killed, including a police officer, when the US Congress was attacked.

The unprecedented attack on the heart of American democracy caused a shock, both nationally and internationally.

Trump had to face impeachment proceedings for the attack because he had previously incited his supporters in a speech.

At the end of the trial, however, the Republican was acquitted.

The committee in Congress is to investigate the background to the attack.

More scared than during the Iraq mission

Police officer Gonell reported at the hearing that he had previously served in the US military in the Iraq war.

But on January 6th he was more afraid than during his entire Iraq mission.

He sustained various physical injuries in the attack on the Capitol and is still being treated.

"For most people, January 6th took a couple of hours, but for those of us who were in the thick of it, it never stopped."

Policeman Aquilino Gonell

"More than six months later, I'm still trying to recover from my injuries," said the Capitol Police officer, who came to tears several times during his testimony.

In addition, there is the emotional burden.

"For most people, January 6th lasted a few hours, but for those of us who were right in the middle it never stopped." The attack caused lasting trauma.

Policeman Michael Fanone said at the meeting that he was packed, beaten, stuned with a stun gun and cursed as a traitor at the same time.

At that moment he thought that there was a high probability "that I would be torn apart or shot with my own weapon," said the police officer in the capital.

"I thought of my four daughters who might lose their father."

Attacks with flagpoles and racial slurs

The black officer Harry Dunn of the Capitol Police also described how the attackers used all kinds of weapons - including flagpoles or parts of metal bicycle stands - against police officers and beat them bloody.

He himself had been insulted several times with the N-word.

This had never happened to him in a uniform in the Capitol Police Department.

The term "N-word" is used today to describe a racist term used for black people.

“These rioters were organized.

They were ready for a fight.

And they were on the verge of being successful, ”said committee chairman and Democratic MP Bennie Thompson.

During the hearing, video material from the scenes of violence at the Capitol was shown several times, including from the police officers' body cameras.

The establishment of the committee of inquiry has been the subject of heated political controversy between Republicans and Democrats.

Republicans had opposed the establishment of such a body, arguing that there was enough processing of the attack elsewhere.

You accused the Democrats of pursuing party-political motives in the investigation.

more on the subject

  • Eight months in prison: Storming the Capitol - US court pronounces prison sentence for the first time

  • Storming the Capitol: Pelosi appoints Trump critic Cheney to investigative committee

  • House of Representatives: Special Commission to shed light on attack on US Capitol

In May, the Republicans in the Senate initially prevented the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into the attack.

The Democrats then decided to set up an investigative body in the House of Representatives on their own, where they have a majority.

The Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, angered the Republican leadership by bringing two Republican MPs - namely proven Trump critics - to the committee and at the same time refusing two Republican MPs loyal to Trump a seat on the committee.

asc / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-07-27

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