Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was lambasted and accused of using law enforcement as political pawns after he posted several pictures and a video of him bike riding with U.S. Capitol police.
His posts were accompanied by the hashtag #BackTheBlue.
His appreciation for cops came as a surprise after he refused to meet with injured DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone.
Officer Fanone was injured during the Capitol riot that was incited by members of McCarthy's party who are now trying to downplay the insurrection.
Kevin McCarthy whitewashes what happened to Officer Fanone. Yet he tweets #BackTheBlue at least 10X a day. #NeverForgetJanuary6thpic.twitter.com/Bqai1OPBv4— Bruno \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 4 Congress CA23 Against Kevin McCarthy (@Bruno \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 4 Congress CA23 Against Kevin McCarthy) 1621263704
CNN exclusively obtained Officer Fanone's bodycam footage from the day of the insurrection which showed him being savagely beaten by the MAGA mob and dragged down the steps of the Capitol's Lower West Terrace as he pleaded for mercy.
One rioter was heard in the video saying, "I got one!"
At one point, Fanone pleaded with his attackers to stop and yelled, "I have kids!" referring to his four daughters back at home.
He was eventually brought back into the Capitol and continued struggling for air after being repeatedly shocked by a stun gun.
He said he suffered a mild heart attack that day.
When Fanone later tried contacting McCarthy's office to talk about the attack, McCarthy's staff allegedly hung up on him.
In a May 13 tweet, McCarthy shared several pictures of him cycling with cops and captioned it with:
"Great bike ride with US Capitol Police this morning! To all law enforcement officials out there—Republicans have got your back."
Great bike ride with US Capitol Police this morning! \n\nTo all law enforcement officials out there\u2014Republicans have got your back.pic.twitter.com/UHEzETui9K— Kevin McCarthy (@Kevin McCarthy) 1620943974
However, his statement about Republicans supporting the police was debatable.
McCarthy's posts came after several Republican members of Congress downplayed the riot or dismissed it completely.
During a House Oversight Committee hearing about the Capitol siege, Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia said the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol behaved "in an orderly fashion" and that anyone watching footage from January 6 would "actually think it was a normal tourist visit."
Clyde was also present at the police biking event.
Texas Representative Pat Fallon called the rioters just a "mob of misfits," and Arizona Representative Paul Gosar minimized the behavior of rioters, saying "many…peacefully protested," adding that law enforcement officials were "harassing peaceful patriots."
Georgia Representative Jody Hice said:
"It was Trump supporters who lost their lives that day, not Trump supporters who were taking the lives of others."
McCarthy also posted a video on Monday in which he expressed his solidarity with America's police.
"RT to agree —> America's police deserve our respect and appreciation. I loved every second of our #BackTheBlue Bike Tour."
Doing a propaganda video proves this was just a photo op. Also, your refusal to meet with Officer Fanone is all the proof we need that you don\u2019t back the blue. You are more anti-police than almost anyone else in Congress. Up there with Marge, Gaetz and Hawley. Which is pathetic.— Scott Dworkin (@Scott Dworkin) 1621260422
Social media users were quick to question McCarthy's loyalty to the police after he ignored calls from Fanone.
The House Minority Leader's office denied the report of hanging up on the officer and called Officer Fanone a liar.
How come you don\u2019t back this police officer you coward?pic.twitter.com/uIs7pqjcNE— Fred Wellman (@Fred Wellman) 1621258893
@GOPLeader you have, so far, not mentioned Officer Fanone at all.\n\nI must therefore assume you only #backtheblue as long as they don\u2019t get in the way of insurrectionists.\n\nYou\u2019re supposed to set a good example, not a bad one.— Matias (@Matias) 1621263640
YES all GOOD cops deserve that...WHY WON'T YOU EVEN TAKE A CALL FROM ONE WHO RISKED HIS OWN LIFE, TO SAVE YOUR MISERABLE ONE?pic.twitter.com/1adeZyz2KF— MD WTH are we doing? (@MD WTH are we doing?) 1621259384
Are you afraid @GOPLeader that they'll find out you don't really back the blue?pic.twitter.com/YkBfkx5uwz— Bridgette \ud83c\udf89 Biden Is My President \ud83c\udf89\ud83e\udd42 (@Bridgette \ud83c\udf89 Biden Is My President \ud83c\udf89\ud83e\udd42) 1621257597
Officer Fanone sends his regards... after your pals tried to kill him and other capitol police on January 6th.— Robert Carlysle (@Robert Carlysle) 1621257851
Except for Officer Fanone. And the one who got his head crushed in a door frame. And the dead ones whose blood is on your hands. Please tell us all about that January 6 respect and appreciation when the \u201ctourists\u201d came to DC, Qevin.https://twitter.com/gopleader/status/1394279309175570433\u00a0\u2026— PoliticOhMyGawd (@PoliticOhMyGawd) 1621257744
Cowardly @GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy is TERRIFIED to meet with Officer Fanone, because McCarthy knows that his own lies about the election led to Officer Fanone to nearly losing his life at the hands of rabid domestic terrorists.— Jake Lobin (@Jake Lobin) 1621263631
Did you respect and appreciate them on 1/6?— Tim Barron (@Tim Barron) 1621257230
Fanone has been an outspoken critic of politicians downplaying the events of January 6 in which five people died—including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.
The pro-Donald Trump rioters included QAnon conspiracy theorists and members of White supremacy groups like the Proud Boys who were told by Trump during a rally to march on the Capitol to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden's electoral college win.
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