Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:51 pm
Rep. Eric Swalwell is demanding that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy meet with Officer Michael Fanone who was in the Capitol attack.
In a letter provided to PoliticusUSA, Swalwell wrote to McCarthy:
Dear Leader McCarthy:
National Police Week is a time to reflect on police officers’ tireless work to keep us safe. This morning, you said that this “this has been a rough year” for police officers and you “wanted to be with” police officers during this week of recognition.[1] In that spirit, we respectfully request that during National Police Week, you meet with Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was seriously injured on January 6, 2021, while defending the United States Capitol against a violent and armed mob. Officer Fanone has made multiple requests to your office that have yet yielded a meeting.
Officer Fanone is a veteran police officer who has dedicated his life to protecting and serving the public. He has served nearly twenty years and currently combats violent crime and narcotics with the First District’s Crime Suppression Team. On January 6, Officer Fanone responded to calls for backup at the U.S. Capitol, where police officers were overwhelmed by violent protesters attempting to enter the building. Inside the Capitol, Congress was assembled to certify Americans’ votes in the 2020 election. When he arrived, Officer Fanone observed police using their bodies as barricades to hold back the mob. Officer Fanone sprang into action to aid his fellow officers, who were beaten, bloodied, injured, and outnumbered. In a matter of moments, Officer Fanone became both a hero and a victim.
While protecting Members of Congress, our staff, and everyone who works in the Capitol, Officer Fanone was brutally attacked by the mob. He was grabbed by the head, dragged down a staircase, and Tasered in his neck until he suffered a heart attack. The mob attempted to get Officer Fanone’s sidearm, and Officer Fanone recalls at least one violent protester shouting, “Kill him with his own gun.”[2] Body camera footage released yesterday shows Officer Fanone lying on the ground pleading, “I got kids,” as the mob continued to brutalize him.[3]
Officer Fanone and the other police officers who put their lives on the line to protect the Capitol from the violent mob on January 6 deserve our gratitude. Many of them suffered physical and mental injuries that may never subside. On May 5, Officer Fanone wrote to every Member of Congress, describing the trauma he suffered on January 6 and expressing his disappointment that some elected officials have shown indifference toward police officers’ experiences that day.
On May 9, at the start of National Police Week, you said that you “will be commemorating the week by sharing stories of officers and their families.”[4] For weeks, Officer Fanone has requested to speak with you. During National Police Week, he again called your office to request a meeting and was hung up on. Officer Fanone has been unable to speak with you or schedule a meeting.
Officer Fanone’s story and the experiences of police officers who were attacked at the Capitol on January 6 are worth commemorating. As you have said, “Law enforcement is our essential line of defense in protecting civil society[,] and they deserve Congress’s support.” During National Police Week, we respectfully request that you honor and support Officer Fanone’s request to meet with you about police officers’ on-the-ground experiences, injuries, and ongoing suffering from their defense of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Fanone was seriously injured in the Capitol attack, but when he called McCarthy’s office to schedule a meeting with the Minority Leader to share his experience of January 6, 2021, he was hung up on.
McCarthy’s staff denies that they hung up on the heroic officer, but to this day, there has still been no meeting scheduled.
Kevin McCarthy has made his priorities clear. He continues to kiss the ring of the former president who paid for the rally that he used to incite the attack and keep Marjorie Taylor Greene and other House Republicans suspected of working with or aiding the terrorists in his caucus.
McCarthy refused to meet with an injured cop as he coddles and enables domestic terrorists in his own caucus.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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