Two former U.S. Capitol Police officers who encountered violent supporters of former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, are warning Pennsylvania voters about the threat they say a second Trump term would pose to democracy.
Former officer Harry Dunn and Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who were among four members of the U.S. Capitol Police to testify in front of the now-defunct U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate Jan. 6, campaigned this week on behalf of President Joe Biden in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Scranton, Philadelphia and Erie.
But their message was much less about Biden than it was Trump, who they say is responsible for the U.S. Capitol riots that left them emotionally and physically scarred and should be held accountable both at the ballot box and in court.
"Before Jan. 6, our politics were just to defend anybody who was at the Capitol," said Gonell, who served 17 years as a Capitol Police officer before retiring in 2023 from injuries he suffered during the riot. "It didn't matter to us which party was in a position of power or not. We did our jobs.
"We tried to be neutral when we first came forward," Gonell continued. "Unfortunately, the Republican Party has chosen to side with the former president and condone, excuse, support what the former president had done and that's why we've come forward to support Joe Biden, because Joe Biden is not dangling pardons in front of the same people who attacked us. We want accountability and justice."
Added Dunn, "This is about a democracy over a dictatorship, and the choice couldn't be more clear."
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Trump and "his subordinates in Congress," said Dunn, have tried to "downplay, whitewash or deny that (Jan. 6) happened at all." The former president faces charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which include his speech to supporters the before the riot.
Trump is the "biggest threat to democracy," Dunn said, and should be kept as far away from the White House as possible.
Trump has said he'll pardon the more than 1,200 people who have been charged with crimes related to the events of Jan. 6. Dunn and Gonell also point to a comment Trump made in which he said he would be a "dictator" his first day in office and other comments hinting at political violence if he does not win back the presidency.
"He's told us what he'll do," Dunn said. "He's going to fire all the generals and appoint his loyalists. He said he'll be a dictator on day one. He constantly talks about going after his political opponents. He's told us what type of president he'll be. He cozies up with dictators. If he wins, it could be the possibility that this could be our last free and fair election."
The Trump campaign did not respond to specific questions about Dunn and Gonell's remarks. Instead, the campaign issued a statement attacking Biden saying Biden and Democrats have turned "great American cities into cesspools of bloodshed and crime" and that his immigration policies have allowed "(10) million illegal criminals to invade our country."
"Exactly one candidate supports law and order and will empower local law enforcement, and that’s President Donald J. Trump," Trump campaign national press secretaryKaroline Leavitt said in a statement. "On day one, President Trump will secure the border and empower local law enforcement to arrest criminals and deport illegal aliens."
Dunn and Gonell refuted similar claims made by Trump and Republicans about their record on crime during their interview in Erie, saying that he's used police officers from across the country for "photo ops" and praised those who have taken a political stand he favors.
Gonell said that not once has Trump or many of his allies sought to be photographed with the Capitol Police who risked their lives on Jan. 6. They've been "indifferent" to those officers and have even allowed their supporters to continue calling those officers "traitors," among other things.
"It's very disingenuous of those people," Gonell said.
Gonell emigrated from the Dominican Republic with his mother when he was 12. He not only became a naturalized U.S. citizen, but also joined the U.S. Army Reserves, serving in Iraq. In 2006, he became a U.S. Capitol Police officer.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Gonell was protecting the West Terrance of the U.S. Capitol Building as angry Trump supporters marched from the Ellipse, where Trump had addressed them. Gonell suffered injuries to his hands, left shoulder, left calf and right foot while protecting the Capitol. He also endured threats from rioters who said he should be executed and called him a traitor. He required two surgeries to recover from his injuries.
He still suffers from the trauma of that day.
"I had a career as a law enforcement officer," he said. "I passed the sergeant's test back in 2018. I was lined up for another promotion as a lieutenant, and I did not fulfill that because of the injuries that pretty much forced me to separate (from service) from that day. I had two surgeries on my body. I have a metal plate on my right foot. My left shoulder is still messed up. I have limitations, but the mental health (issues are) still there, the moral injury, because at the end of the day, we did what we were supposed to do. We kept our oath, we protected the members of Congress so they could come back and fulfill their duties."
Dunn was initially outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, but was called inside once it had been breached by rioters. He had to protect a stairwell and an area near then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office. His hands were bloodied from fighting with rioters.
"It's hard to have a flashback of something that's never really left," Dunn said. "It's not as bad as it was, my mental health. I've gotten tremendously better because I've tried to turn my anger into action."
Dunn ran for the House seat vacated by U.S. Rep.John Sarbanes of Maryland at the end of 2023, but came up short May 14 in a crowded Democratic primary.
Matthew Rink can be reached atmrink@timesnews.comor on X at@ETNRink.
