D.C. Cops Describe What It Was Like To Be Attacked By Capitol Hill Mob

By Susie Madrak — January 15, 2021

CNN's New Day featured interviews this morning with police officers who were attacked last week.

"We get to hear from the D.C. police officers who were attacked by that mob, including this one seen on video being crushed in a doorway by the terrorists.

"And another seen here being attacked, tased, and surrounded by that bloodthirsty mob. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is live in Washington with these extraordinary interviews," Alysin Camerota said.

"Truly extraordinary, Alisyn, when you listen to these officers tell their story, the pain, the fear that they felt. For the first time, we're hearing from them and their the words they say, the picture they paint are certainly terrifying. Take a listen.

MOB: USA! USA!

"In last week's deadly coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol, a pro-Trump mob swarmed the building, outnumbering and battling police officers fighting to defend it."

It was difficult to offer any resistance when you're only about 30 guys going up against 15,000.

"D.C. Metro police officer Michael Fanone was in the group of officers at the west front entrance of the Capitol as rioters forced their way in. They eventually pushed them outside into the crowd, where Fanone says he was tasered several times."

I remember guys were stripping me of my gear. And some guy started getting ahold of my gun and they were screaming out, you know, kill him with his own gun. At that point, you know, it was just like self-preservation. You know, how do I survive this situation?

"While trapped, the 40-year-old says he thought about using his gun to fight back."

That would definitely give him the justification that they were looking for to kill me, if they already didn't have made that up in their minds. So, the other option I thought of was, you know, try to appeal to somebody's humanity. And I just remember yelling out that I have kids and it seemed to work. Some people in the crowd started to encircle me and try to offer me some level of protection. A lot of people have asked me, you know, my thoughts on the individuals in the crowd that, you know, that helped me or tried to offer some assistance.

And I think kind of the conclusion I've come to is like, you know, thank you, but f*ck you for being there.

D.C. police officer Michael Fanone: “A lot of people have asked me my about thoughts on the people that helped me. And now that I have kind of processed it all I will say, thank you. But fuck you for being there.” pic.twitter.com/stTcwwcxFx

— Dustin Volz (@dnvolz) January 15, 2021

"This horrifying video shows the moment the violent mob storms into a tunnel of the building, trapping and crushing D.C. Metro police officer Daniel Hodges by a door."

There's a guy ripping my mask off and he was able to rip away my baton and beat me with it. And he was practically foaming at the mouth. So just these people were true believers in the worst way. When things were looking bad, obviously, I was calling out for all I was worth and an officer behind me was able to get me enough room to pull me out of there. And they brought me to the rear, so I was able to extricate myself.

"Hodges miraculously leaving the attack without any major injuries. Saying he was shocked that some rioters thought authorities would be on their side."

The cognitive dissidence and the zealotry of these people is unreal. They were waving the thin blue line flag and telling us, we're not your enemies, as they were attacking us and killed one of us.

"The insurrection is even using unusual means in their efforts to break into the most secure areas of the U.S. Capitol building."

The individuals were pushing, shoving officers, hitting officers, they were spraying us with what we are calling -- it's essentially bear mace.

"With President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration just days away, Washington, D.C. is on high alert and Hodges says he hopes any pro-Trump extremists stay out of the city to avoid another situation like last week's insurrection."

Stay home, stop this, but you know, on the other hand, I kind of hope -- well, I hope they're caught. Let's leave it at that.

"And guys, it is the action of these officers and the many D.C. officers who came in as reinforcements after the Capitol police were overwhelmed, saved many lives. Law enforcement officials say that it gave time for the Capitol police, what the D.C. police did, it allowed them to move. It allowed the Capitol police to move many of the lawmakers out of harm's way," Prokupecz said.

"The U.S. attorney here in D.C. who is running this investigation saying some of the video, some of the other information we're going to learn in the days to come and weeks to come, is going to be shocking. The hand-to-hand battle many of the officers had with this vicious mob, truly, we have not seen the full picture yet."