We are at a crossroads in this country.
Today, those of us who value our democracy will be reflecting on the violent insurrection Donald Trump instigated four years ago. At the same time, Congress will be certifying the results for Trump to once again become president of the United States. It is anticipated that Trump will pardon many of the insurrectionists who participated in the siege on Capitol “nine minutes” after taking office.
Is this not a betrayal of our government, our Constitution and our country? Do we no longer believe in accountability for the transgressions of extremists who desecrated the Capitol and attacked police officers under the banner of an authoritarian?
My colleagues and I who protected the Capitol that day don’t have the privilege of forgetting the Jan. 6 riot. To me, it still feels like it was yesterday.
I served in the U.S. Army and witnessed violence in combat, but I never thought I would see similar brutality inside the U.S. Capitol. I was assaulted by rioters for five hours. I was barricading the tunnels with my body, receiving blow after blow from rioters using makeshift weapons and stolen police gear. By the end, I was covered in my own blood. Exhausted, overwhelmed and trampled, I did not know whether I would make it home to see my wife and child. Those horrible memories are seared into my brain. I will never forget that feeling.
Like many other officers who served that day, I’ve spent years in mental and physical therapy — and have undergone two surgeries to heal from those wounds — but that feeling has never truly left me. It has altered the trajectory of my career and my life. Trump and his rioters not only stole my health but also the livelihoods of me and my fellow officers.
According to Trump and MAGA Republicans, Jan. 6, 2021, was a “day of love.” If being beaten and trampled by a violent mob is love, then Trump and the insurrectionists who attacked me under his banner nearly loved me to death. While serving that day, I wasn’t focused on the implications of the attack. I was simply doing my job.
Let me be very clear: Republicans in Congress do not support law enforcement if they support the pardons of those who attacked police officers and attempted to overthrow our government — the antithesis of law and order.
Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News that she thinks Democrats “wake up every morning and they look at the calendar on the iPhone and it says Jan. 6. The date never changes.” Well, the officers who were gravely injured defending the Capitol can never forget that date. Republicans in Congress who don’t speak out against Trump and the atrocities of Jan. 6 have taken a stand against law enforcement, against the will of the voters, and against the Constitution.
Donald Trump ran for a second term to avoid accountability for his crimes. Republicans in Congress are complicit in his contempt for the rule of law. They don’t just want to move on from Jan. 6 — they want to suppress the indelible mark this blatant attack has left on American history. They can’t face the fact that their lies incited a fatal insurrection, and their negligence is a betrayal to the more than 140 police officers who were injured or died in the aftermath of the attack.
Until Donald Trump and the American people truly come to terms with how close we were to losing our democracy, the date may as well continue to read 1/6/2021.
I don’t hate Trump or his supporters. Some of them are my relatives. What I cannot abide is the irreparable damage they and their lies have done to this country, especially when you realize that we risked our lives to defend theirs. Yet congressional Republicans couldn’t even find it within themselves to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the attack or find the courage to convict Trump — the very person whose supporters wanted to harm them.
To this day, Speaker Mike Johnson(R-La.) has refused to hang up the ceremonial plaque that Congress passed a bill two years ago to install inside the Capitol building honoring the police officers that fought to defend it. It is a fundamental betrayal of law enforcement and the rule of law. When Trump again walks through the tunnel where I was almost killed by his followers, he should have to read the names of all the officers that he betrayed in his pursuit of power.
Every member of Congress, including Republicans in both chambers, have a duty to loudly and publicly oppose the pardoning of criminals who assaulted and tried to kill their colleagues and police officers. The American people also have a role to play; they must call on their elected representatives to publicly oppose the pardoning of those who attacked the Capitol in order to overturn their democracy.
The rule of law applies to all. There is a difficult road ahead, but if we all chip in and fight to defend our democracy, we can finally turn the page on Jan. 6, 2021, and preserve our democracy for future generations.
Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is a former Capitol Police Officer and councilmember for Courage for America who was severely injured while defending the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He is a co-author of “American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant who Defended Democracy.”
