Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021.
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For the millions of Americans who watch the presidential inauguration every four years, the Lower West Terrace Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol is a familiar location.
The president-elect will walk through that tunnel to the inaugural podium before taking the oath of office.
On January 6, 2021, it was the scene of a crime and hours of bloody struggle between law enforcement and a crowd of supporters of President-elect Donald Trump.
“My fellow officers and I were punched, kicked, shoved, and sprayed with chemical irritants by a violent mob,” said Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell testified before Congress on January 6 about his experience in the tunnel. “I felt the oxygen draining away and I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’m going to die guarding this entrance.’
After successfully campaigning on the message that those convicted and charged with the actions of January 6 were “political prisoners” and “patriots” worthy of the presidency, Trump now He is about to walk through the same tunnel again as the next president. sorry. President Trump made his first presidential campaign performance on January 6 with a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” recorded from jail phones by defendants accused of violent assault, including those accused of being “Nazi sympathizers.” The meeting began. During his campaign, he called January 6th “the day of love.”
For Gonell and other victims of that day’s violence, Trump’s election victory was a shock.
“Sometimes I wonder what I risked my life for,” Gonell told NPR.
Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell watches video of rioters during a hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., July 27, 2021.
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Gonell said his injuries on January 6 were so severe that he required two surgeries and was ultimately forced to retire from the Capitol Police. He noted that some Republican lawmakers who defended him from the mob downplayed the seriousness of the violence.
“All these elected officials don’t care about the public officials. They’re the people who put their lives on the line to protect public officials like them,” he said. “We did our job and gave them time to evacuate the building, and they seem to have forgotten the fear Donald Trump’s mob made them feel.”
Gonell immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. He then served in the Army Reserve, became a U.S. citizen, was deployed to Iraq, and then joined the Capitol Police. After the Capitol attack, he spoke in a memoir about his experiences as a witness in Congress and in criminal trials. american shield.
“I did everything that was asked of me,” Gonell said. “I loved this country, but I feel like this country doesn’t love me back.”
The Justice Department described the January 6 attack as an act of domestic terrorism that threatened the nation’s peaceful transfer of power. Prosecutors estimate that 140 police officers were injured that day. One of the officers assaulted was Brian Sicknick.
During the riot, a man attacked Sicknick with a chemical spray. Later that night, Sicknick collapsed at the Capitol and was rushed to a hospital. The next day, January 7th, he passed away. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C., later announced that Sicknick died of “natural causes” from two strokes, noting that “everything that happened contributed to his condition.”
Anne Seymour adds a sign to the memorial for U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries sustained after the Jan. 6 attack, near the Capitol on Jan. 10, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
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Sicknick’s family condemned Trump’s death and campaigned against his re-election.
“What makes me so angry that something like that could happen is that he would let all these people out of prison,” said Gladys Sicknick, Brian’s mother. “That’s not correct.”
President Trump has not provided details about which of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Capitol attack may receive pardons. In 2024, he told the National Association of Black Journalists that he was open to pardoning defendants convicted of assaulting police because “they were convicted by a very harsh system.” spoke.
That could include the man who pleaded guilty to assaulting Brian Sicknick and the person who was convicted of assaulting Gonell.
“The American people were not fooled by left-wing fearmongering surrounding January 6th. “I was re-elected by a large margin because that’s what I wanted.” Transforming our country through success is exactly what he will do.”
Additionally, “Unlike Joe Biden, who only commuted the sentences of murderers, child predators, and other violent criminals, President Trump was denied due process and wrongfully prosecuted by a weaponized Justice Department.” He will pardon Americans.”
The statement did not specify which defendants it was referring to.
For the victims of the January 6 attacks, attempts to cover up the events of that day were especially difficult.
Brian’s father, Charles Sicknick, said he had lost friends over his skepticism about the rebellion.
Fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s awards, citations and personal memorabilia are laid out on a table in his parents’ home.
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Tom Dreisbach/NPR
“I try not to hang out with Trump people, and I have lifelong friends who I no longer hang out with because of this incident,” Charles Sicknick said. “To them, it’s no big deal, because it wasn’t their son.”
Brian’s older brother, Craig Sicknick, said the grief of losing his brother and the minimization of the events of January 6 changed him. He now tends to get into fights online over politics.
“I’m not nice. I used to be nice and decent. I can’t take it anymore,” he said. “I’ve become an even more angry and difficult person. Do people hate me? I don’t care.”
Gladys Sicknick’s son Brian, a member of the U.S. Capitol Police, was assaulted with pepper spray on January 6, 2021, and died the next day. After his death, Gladys got his badge tattooed on her forearm.
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The Sicknick family cherishes Brian’s memory. Near the front of the house is a table with medals such as the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Citizen’s Medal. Charles and Craig wear metal bracelets with Brian’s badge number on them. Gladys Sicknick got a tattoo of her son’s Capitol Police badge on her forearm.
Aquilino Gonell said seeing much of the country forgetting or distorting the Jan. 6 attack reminded him of his experiences in the military and the country’s response to the Iraq war.
“I remember when I was in Iraq, I came back for two weeks of R&R, rest and recovery, and when I came back I saw people moving forward. I lived my life and never thought about what was going on in that part of the world,” Gonell said. “And that’s how I feel now. People have moved on from that day. Police officers like me couldn’t do that.”
Some federal judges, who have presided over more than 1,500 criminal cases stemming from assaults, also condemned false reporting about January 6th. “The rewriting of history on January 6, 2021 is deeply disturbing,” the federal district judge said. Beryl Howell, appointed by President Barack Obama Judgment will be in December 2024. Judge Royce Lamberth, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, wrote: Submission to court Last month, he said he had witnessed “horrific stories” at the Jan. 6 trials, saying jurors in those trials “founded the great foundation of the American Republican experiment, and perhaps our most important power… “We know how dangerously close we were to allowing a peaceful transfer.” Contribute to posterity, please leave us. ”
Despite the change in public perception about Jan. 6, Gonell said he is still dealing with post-traumatic stress from his experience protecting the Capitol. Adding to his stress is the possibility of facing retaliation from the incoming administration.
In late 2023, President Trump message People on social media chanted, “The police should be prosecuted and the protesters should be released.” Mr. Gonell also attended the Democratic National Convention to oppose Mr. Trump’s candidacy, and Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened political opponents.
Gonell waves on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 21, 2024.
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Gonell told NPR he did nothing wrong.
“What are they going to make me do?” he said. “Doing your job? Proving what happened to me?”
Trump’s transition team did not respond to NPR’s specific questions about whether the incoming administration intends to move forward with investigations into law enforcement officers who protected the Capitol.
Gonell said he plans to continue speaking out about his experience on January 6, even though he doubts it will change public perception.
“It was a terrible day, not just for me but for my colleagues,” he said. No matter how much the other person wants to erase it, it won’t change.
