Capitol riot committee holds first hearing

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger called out other members of his party, saying "we need to reject those that promote" conspiracies about the insurrection on the US Capitol on Jan. 6.

He said he agreed to serve on this select committee because he wants to know what happened that day and present the facts to the public "free of conspiracy," adding he wants Americans to be able to trust the committee.

Kinzinger got emotional during his comments to the four officers who were testifying.

"I've talked to a number of you and gotten to know you. I think it is important to tell you right now, though, you guys may like individually feel a little broken. You all talked about the effects you have to deal with and you talk about the impact of that day. But guys won. You guys held," he said, getting choked up.

He said moving forward, the goal of the committee is to find the truth and ensure accountability. He said he is frustrated that there are still things that are unknown about the insurrection, now 6 months later.

Kinzinger said this is because Republicans have "treated this as just another partisan fight."

"It is toxic and it is a disservice to the officers and their families, to the staff and the employees on Capitol complex, to the American people who deserve the truth and to those generations before us who went to war to defend self governance. Because self governance is at stake," he said.

Some context: Kinzinger has been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump and was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for his second impeachment. Kinzinger served in the Air Force in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He continues to serve in the Air National Guard as a pilot.

Former President Trump's remarks about the "loving" crowd that gathered for his speech before the Capitol insurrection are "insulting," Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell told the House select committee.

"To me, it is insulting, it is demoralizing because everything that we did was to prevent everyone in the capitol from getting hurt," the officer said.

Gonell said instead of telling his supporters clearly to stop their behavior from the beginning, he "egged them" on to keep fighting.

"I was in the lower west terrace fighting alongside these officers, and all of them (rioters), all of them were telling us 'Trump sent us,'" Gonell said.

"It was not Antifa, it was not or Black Lives [Matter], it was not the FBI; it was his supporters that he sent them over to the Capitol that day. And he could have done a lot of things. One of them was to tell them to stop. He talks about sacrificing, sacrifices; well now, the only thing that he has sacrificed is the institutions of the country and the country itself only for his ego," Gonell said.

One officer had to have the tip of his finger removed, another was shocked with a cattle prod, and another was hit in the head so hard, he is still out of medical leave, DC Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges said, citing just a few examples of violence he witnessed first-hand on the day of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

During his testimony at a select committee on Tuesday, Hodges said one of his sergeants was struck by one of the rioters and fractured his finger. Instead of leaving, he wrapped it up in tape and a napkin and continued to fight for several more hours before finally accepting a medical evacuation.

Another officer, Hodges said, was hit in the head by a "large heavy object" that was thrown at them. He has not returned to work, "but at the time he was still fighting," Hodges said.

He recounts another officer, who was soaked with spray, was shocked "several times" by a cattle prod one of the rioters brought with them.

"I know that another officer found a Capitol Police officer was being dragged out into the crowd and he was unable to signal to us what was going on. So he charged in there by himself and got that officer back out of there and in the process, hyper-extended his knee and took several other injuries," he said.

DC Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges said he was beaten with his own gas mask on Jan. 6.

At one point, with his arms pinned and trapped between a shield and door frame, Hodges said a rioter bashed his head with a huge mob behind him.

"He never uttered any words I recognized but opted instead for guttural screams. I remember him foaming at the mouth. He also put his cell phone in the mouth so that he had both hands free to assault me," Hodges said.

Hodges said he screamed for help and an officer was able to assist him out of the mob.

The officer repeatedly called the rioters "terrorists" during his testimony.

Earlier in the day on Jan. 6, Hodges said rioters called the officers traitors and mocked their numbers.

"As we came close to the terrorists, our line was divided and we came under attack. A man attempted to rip the baton from my hands. ... He yelled at me 'You're on the wrong team,'" Hodges said.

"One of the terrorists who had scaled the scaffolding that adorned the Capitol at the time threw something heavy down at me and struck me in the head, disorienting me. I suspect this resulted in the likely concussion I dealt with in the weeks after," he said.

There were also many flags in the crowd, he said, including American, pro-Trump and religious flags.

Hodges described the fight as a "chaotic melee" with chemical sprays hanging thick in the air.

"One latched on to my face and got his thumb in my right eye, attempting to gouge it out. I cried out in pain, managed to shake him off. Managed to shake him off before any permanent damage was done," he said.

Hodges called the frontline a "meat grinder."

"The terrorists had a wall of shields that they had stolen from officers as well as stolen batons and whatever other armaments they brought. Even during this contest of wills, they tried to convert us to their cult," Hodges said.

US Capitol police officer Harry Dunn said that he confronted rioters who had breached the building. "I told them to just leave the Capitol and in response they yelled, no, man, this is our house," he said.

Dunn said the rioters told him, "President Trump invited us here. We're here to stop the steal. Joe Biden is not the president. Nobody voted for Joe Biden." 

Dunn said that as a law enforcement officer he tries to keep politics out of his job, but in the heat of the moment, he responded: "I voted for Joe Biden. Does my vote not count? Am I nobody?"

He said at that point, one woman in pink yelled, "did you hear that, guys, that [N-word] voted for Joe Biden." He said that others joined in and yelled remarks like, "Boo! F**king [N-word]."

Dunn said that after Jan. 6, other Black officers shared with their experiences with him. He said one officer told him he never in his 40 years of life had been called the N-word and "that streak ended on January 6th."

Another Black officer told Dunn he had been confronted by insurrectionists in the Capitol that told him to "put your gun down, and we will show you what kind of [N-word] you really are."

Later in the hearing while he was questioned by committee members, Dunn said that he wasn't able to fully process the attack and the racial nature of the attack until later.

Watch US Capitol police officer Harry Dunn's account:

The House Select Committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 convened for the first time, and it did so against a backdrop of Republican objections and falsehoods.

Four police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 are testifying now before the House select committee about what they witnessed that day and the harm they experienced.

The false narratives about the events of Jan. 6 have evolved over the past few months, with different politicians adding new, more wild conspiracy theories to the mix and trying to use congressional hearings meant to investigate the riot instead to promote their rewriting of history.

Some Republicans have tried to paint the events of Jan. 6 as mostly peaceful except for a few bad apples.

One of the biggest promoters of the idea that the riot was actually a largely peaceful event is Ron Johnson, the only Republican senator who has been an outspoken denier of the Jan. 6 events.

In a May 19 Fox News interview, Johnson called the Capitol attack a "peaceful protest."

Facts First: Johnson's attempt to downplay the insurrection is obvious nonsense; the attack on the Capitol was anything but peaceful. Trump supporters did bring and used weapons during the riot.

Echoing Johnson, GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde made one of the most egregious comparisons to downplay the riot, suggesting many members of the mob looked like regular tourists.

In a May during a congressional hearing, Clyde claimed the attack looked like a "normal tourist visit."

Facts First: Clyde is referring to one moment after the rioters broke into the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall. Other footage of Jan. 6, however, shows rioters beating a police officer with a flagpole, as well as using police shields to smash through windows and clambering over the Capitol walls — not typical tourist behavior.

Read more fact checks debunking false narratives surrounding Jan. 6 here.

US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn began his opening remarks by asking those in the committee room to hold a moment of silence for fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

Watch:

The Jan. 6 insurrection "didn't have anything to do with political parties," DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone said during testimony at the select committee hearing, adding those who are denying what happened that day "betray their oath of office."

"I feel like I went to hell and back to protect them and the people in this room, but too many are now telling me that hell doesn't exist, or that hell actually wasn't that bad. The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful," Fanone said, slamming his fist on the table.

He said his job is to serve and protect lawmakers and the public and nothing could have prepared him for the aftermath of that day.

He said he agreed to testify at the hearing and talk publicly about what happened because he thinks the response going forward should be nonpartisan.

"I know that what my partner Jimmy and I suited up for on January 6th didn't have anything to do with political parties or about politics or what political party any of you public servants belong to," Fanone said.

"I've worked in the city for two decades and I've never cared about those things no matter who was in office. All I've ever cared about is protecting you, and the public. So you could do your job and in service to this country and for those whom you represent," he added.

DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone said that he was attacked by rioters and "electrocuted again and again and again with a taser." 

"I'm sure I was screaming but I don't think I could even hear my own voice," Fanone said.

He said that his body camera captured the violence of the crowd directed toward him on Jan. 6.

"It's an important part of the record for this committee's investigation and for the country's understanding of how I was assaulted and nearly killed as the mob attacked the Capitol that day," he said.

He called the video "essential" for the record of what happened during the insurrection.

During the attack, Fanone said he thought his four daughters would lose their dad.

While he was being attacked, Fanone said, he attempted to "appeal to any humanity" that the rioters might have.  

"I said as loud as I could manage 'I've got kids.' Thankfully some in the crowd stepped in and assisted me," Fanone said.

He said after he was pulled out, he was taken to the hospital and was told by a physician that he suffered a heart attack.

"And I was later diagnosed with a concussion, a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder," the officer said.

"As my physical injuries subsided and the adrenalin that stayed with me for weeks waned, I've been left with the psychological trauma and the emotional anxiety of having survived such a horrific event. And my children continue to deal with the trauma of nearly losing their dad that day," he continued

Watch: