Capital Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonel, who was seriously injured battling supporters of former President Donald Trump during last year’s rebellion, said Thursday that the same Republican legislators had “pretended not to see me” that day.
Gonell has participated in each day of testimony by the House Select Committee investigating the events of January 6, 2021. At the hearing on Tuesday, Representative Jamie Ruskin (D-MD) said Gonell’s injuries were so severe that he couldn’t continue to serve on the force long enough.
“For some people, that day has come and gone, and for me, to this day, I’m still dealing with those effects,” Gonell said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “You know, you try to adapt to your new normal, but it’s hard.”
“When you were attacked by several rioters, they beat you in turn. And then you have a lot of people we patronized that day, which happened,” Gonel said. “Sometimes I walk up to them in the hallway and then they pretend not to see me. They avoid me or turn right or left or pretend to do something.”
Gonnell said the only Republicans who accept him are Rep. Adam Kizinger (R-Ill.) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), two GOP members of the Jan. 6 panel. However, he insisted he had “no complaints.”
“You know, it’s disappointing,” Gonel said. “I’m not saying I need it from them, but it shows a lot from people who claim they support the police and support the blue color and are supporters of law and order.”
One of the rioters, Stephen Ayres, testified Tuesday that he no longer believes Trump’s lies about rigging. He then approached the three police officers present in the room to apologize.
“I didn’t expect it,” Gonnell later told reporters. “It is what it is. I have no grudges. I am trying to live with my life … and learning how to live and face my new disabilities.”
Gonnell wrote an op ed in The New York Times last Sunday, saying he had been “betrayed” by Trump and should not be allowed in the Oval Office again.
“Although I first experienced the brutal onslaught of the rebels, I was shocked to hear that [witness] M / s. [Cassidy] Hutchinson explains to what extent former President Donald Trump instigated the people who killed me,” Gonnell wrote in the op-ed.
“Mr. Trump’s competence needs to stop now,” Gonell wrote. “He should not only be stopped from running for any other government office; He should never be allowed near the White House again. I believe he betrayed his oath to defend the Constitution, and that was to the detriment of me, my allies, and all the Americans he had to protect.
