Michael Fanone—who worked for the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia for 20 years until he sustained serious and life-threatening injuries when he was brutally attacked by President Donald Trump's supporters during the January 6 insurrection—spoke out on CNN after Trump issued a mass pardon of all the insurrectionists on his first day in office.
Fanone's name has become synonymous with the many police officers who suffered horrific and unprecedented trauma as they attempted to restore order and protect the seat of the nation's government on January 6, 2021.
Insurrectionist Thomas Sibick made nationwide news for his involvement in the attack on Fanone, who suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was beaten with a flagpole. Sibick robbed Fanone of his badge and radio while others tased Fanone and threatened to beat him with his own gun. Fanone's badge and radio were recovered from the spot where Sibick buried them after returning to Buffalo, New York from D.C.
Sibick was sentenced to 50 months in prison and incarcerated at FCI Elkton in Ohio, having pleaded guilty to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and one misdemeanor count of theft. Officials with the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Sibick's release.
When asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper if Trump's action "feels like a betrayal to you," Fanone said:
"Rest assured, I have been betrayed by my country and I have been betrayed by those who supported Donald Trump. Whether you voted for him because he promised these pardons, or for some other reason, you knew that this was coming. And here we are."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Others stood with Fanone and condemned the pardons.
Fanone wasn't the only former member of the Capitol Police to speak out against the pardons, which impacted more than 1,000 people who participated in the insurrection.
Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn decried the pardons, calling them "another dark day in American history and a continuation of the stain that January 6th left on our nation." Though "infuriated," Dunn said "we can’t pretend to be shocked because Trump has fulfilled his longstanding promise to pardon the criminals he incited to attack me and my fellow officers.”
Similarly, former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said in a statement that the pardons amount to "a miserable miscarriage of justice and erases accountability for the criminals who have done irreparable damage to our nation." He said he will "never truly recover from the events of that day.”
Although many Republicans had hoped the pardons would focus solely on nonviolent offenders who entered the Capitol that day, Trump's action forced them to navigate how to balance their support for the sitting president and leader of their party with potential criticism.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune did not give a direct answer when asked about the pardons, only saying, “We’re looking at the future, not the past." Meanwhile, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, referring to the officers who defended the Capitol during the attack, said, "I do fear the message that is sent to these great men and women that stood by us.”
Most Republicans have declined to weigh in, arguing it is Trump's prerogative to issue pardons, not that of Congress.
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