Officers tell lawmakers in Capitol riot probe to get the 'hit man' behind the attack
Record ID:
1628979
Officers tell lawmakers in Capitol riot probe to get the 'hit man' behind the attack
- Title: Officers tell lawmakers in Capitol riot probe to get the 'hit man' behind the attack
- Date: 27th July 2021
- Summary: WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES (JULY 27, 2021) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) WIDE OF THE FOUR POLICE OFFICERS WHO WERE THE FIRST TO TESTIFY BEFORE A U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DEMOCRATICALLY-LED INVESTIGATORY COMMITTEE INTO THE JANUARY 6 RIOTS AND ATTACK ON CAPITOL HILL BY SUPPORTERS OF THEN-PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER HARRY DUNN, AT THE END OF THE HEARING WHEN THE FOUR OFFICERS WERE EACH ASKED BY THE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN TO TELL THE COMMITTEE WHAT THEY EACH WOULD LIKE TO SEE COME OUT OF THIS CONGRESSIONAL PROBE, SAYING: "I use an analogy to describe what I want as a hit man. If a hit man is hired and he kills somebody, the hit man goes to jail. But not only does the hit man go to jail, but the person who hired them does. There was an attack carried out on January 6 and a hit man sent them. I want you to get to the bottom of that." (SOUNDBITE) (English) METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFICER DANIEL HODGES ANSWERING THE SAME QUESTION: "I need you guys to address if anyone in power had a role in this. If anyone in power coordinated or aided and abetted or tried to downplay, tried to prevent the investigation of this terrorist attack. Because we can't do it. We're not allowed to." (SOUNDBITE) (English) METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFICER MICHAEL FANONE ANSWERING THE SAME QUESTION: "In the academy, we learn about time, place and circumstance in investigating potential crimes and those who may have committed them. And so the time, the place and the circumstances of that rally (on Jan 6), that rhetoric, and those events, to me leads in the direction of our president (Trump) and other members, not only of Congress, in the Senate. But that is what I am looking for, is an investigation into those actions and activities which may have resulted in the events of January 6th, and also whether or not there was collaboration between those members, their staff and these terrorists." COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FOR MISSISSIPPI, BENNIE THOMPSON, SEATED EARLIER IN THE HEARING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER AQUILINO GONELL ANSWERING ANOTHER LAWMAKER'S QUESTION, EARLIER IN THE HEARING, HOW DOES HE FEEL WHEN HE THINKS ABOUT FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYING THAT THE VIOLENT MOB ON JAN 6 WAS A "LOVING" CROWD, SAYING: "It's upsetting. It's a pathetic excuse for his behavior, for something that he himself helped to create, this monstrosity. I'm still recovering from those 'hugs and kisses' that day that he (Trump) claimed that so many rioters, terrorists, were assaulting us that day. If that was hugs and kisses then we should all go to his house and do the same thing to him." (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER HARRY DUNN SAYING DURING THE HEARING: "One of the scariest things about January 6 is that the people that were there, even to this day, think that they were right. They think that they were right. And that that makes for a scary recipe for the future of this country. So I think that's why it's very important that you all take this committee seriously and get to the bottom of why this happened and make it never happen again." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ILLINOIS U.S. CONGRESSMAN ADAM KINZINGER, ONE OF ONLY TWO REPUBLICANS ON THIS SELECT COMMITTEE, GETTING EMOTIONAL AND TEARFUL WHEN IT WAS HIS TURN TO SPEAK: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to my colleagues on the committee, thank you to our witnesses. I never expected today day to be quite as emotional for me as it has been. I've talked to a number of you and gotten to know you. I think it's important to tell you right now, though, you guys may, like, individually feel a little broken. You guys all talk about the effects you have to deal with. And, you know, you talk about the impact of that day. But you guys won. You guys held." (WHITE FLASH) "And for all the overheated rhetoric surrounding this committee, our mission is very simple: It's to find the truth and it's to ensure accountability. Like most Americans, I'm frustrated that six months after a deadly insurrection breached the United States Capitol for several hours on live television, we still don't know exactly what happened. Why? Because many in my party have treated this as just another partisan fight. It's toxic and it's a disservice to the officers and their families, to the staff and the employees on the Capitol complex, to the American people who deserve the truth, and to those generations before us who went to war to defend self governance. Because self governance is at stake." WIDE OF ROOM AS REPRESENTATIVE KINZINGER SPEAKS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CALIFORNIA U.S. CONGRESSMAN, ADAM SCHIFF, WHO HAD HEADED THE DEMOCRATICALLY-LED HOUSE IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS AGAINST PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING: "I believe in this country and I believe in it because of people like you (the four witnesses) who understand what the flag means and what our Constitution means and risk their lives to defend it. I'd like to think, as Amanda Gorman (the young Black American poet who read the inaugural poem for Biden's presidential inauguration) so eloquently said, that 'we're not broken, we're just unfinished'. Because if we're no longer committed to a peaceful transfer of power after our elections, if our side doesn't win, they've got help us. We deem elections illegitimate merely because they didn't go our way rather than trying to do better the next time, then God help us. And if we're so driven by bigotry and hate that we attack our fellow citizens as traitors, if they're born in another country or they don't look like us -- (gets a little tearful) then God help us. But I have faith because of folks like you. And I didn't expect this would be quite so emotional either, but it must be an 'Adam thing' today (in an apparent reference to himself)." WIDE OF HEARING
- Embargoed: 10th August 2021 19:38
- Keywords: Trump U.S. congressional hearing to Capitol Hill riots hit man insurection opening testimony from officers
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001ENMAOG7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Four police officers on Tuesday (July 27) told lawmakers they were beaten, taunted with racial insults, heard threats including "kill him with his own gun" and thought they might die as they struggled to defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 against a mob of then-President Donald Trump's supporters.
Often tearful, sometimes profane, the officers called the rioters "terrorists" engaged in an "attempted coup." During a 3-1/2 hour congressional hearing, they also criticized Republican lawmakers who have sought to downplay the attack.
It was a dramatic first hearing for a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee tasked with investigating the worst violence at the Capitol since the British invasion in the War of 1812.
The officers urged lawmakers to determine what happened at the riot including whether Trump or others helped instigate it.
"There was an attack carried out on Jan. 6, and a hit man sent them. I want you to get to the bottom of that," Capitol police officer Harry Dunn said.
Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger was named to serve on the select committee investigating the attack. Kinzinger, 43, is an Air Force veteran and an outspoken critic of Trump. He was one of seven House Republicans who voted with Democrats to impeach Trump earlier this year on a charge of inciting an insurrection at the Capitol.
"You guys may individually feel a little broken," he told the four officers seated at the witness table. "But you guys won, you guys held," he said, as he became visibly emotional.
Four people died on Jan. 6 when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol while Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden's November election win over Republican Trump, who has continued to make false claims of widespread election fraud.
(Production: Mana Rabiee) - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None