In a new op-ed, former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell criticized President-elect Trump's promise of pardons for the supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, calling it “devastating.”
in New York Times editorial Gonell, who was released Sunday, the day before the fourth anniversary of the attack, spent the day trying to keep lawmakers safe inside the Capitol as a mob moved in to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. I relived it.
He detailed the beatings he suffered and said he thought that if he died he would “not be able to go home and see his wife and young son.”
“For the past four years, I have been shocked to hear Donald Trump repeat his promise to pardon insurrectionists on his first day back in office,” Gonell wrote.
As President Trump prepares to return to the White House for a second term, he has said one of the first things he will do when he returns is to pardon defendants on January 6th.
Gonell wrote that he suffered long-term injuries that required multiple surgeries and years of rehabilitation due to post-traumatic stress disorder. But in the op-ed, he calls himself one of the lucky responding officers.
“I have retired from the Capitol Police, but I can't get that day out of my mind,” he wrote. “Now, Mr. Trump's promised actions could erase the justice we fought everything to win.”
He later questioned why he risked his life for an elected official inspired by Trump, “only to see Trump return to power stronger than ever.” “Is that true?” he added.
Gonell, who has been an outspoken critic of President Trump and has testified in court, also cited fear of retaliation from the new administration.
Ahead of the anniversary, Gonell told MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart that if President Trump were to pardon the rioters, it would be an “outrage” and “desecration” to the sacrifices of those who served and died that day. He said it would be.
Gonell said on the air that he has applied for benefits for the trauma and financial burden he has experienced since leaving his job, but has not yet been approved.
He said he never thought four years ago that he would be airing his story in 2025, before Trump became president again.
In an op-ed, Gonell called on President Trump to uphold the convictions of the January 6 rioters, saying it would help heal a divided nation.
“Those people attack our police officers. They are not warriors. They are not victims,” Gonell said on MSNBC. “They chose to commit crimes because they were gullible enough to believe Donald Trump's lies without any evidence.”
“We were doing our job,” he continued. “We kept our vows, not them.”
