Trump is once again trying to reassert himself as the law and order president.
During his recent joint address to Congress, the president called for a mandatory death penalty for anyone who kills a police officer. This of course comes less than two months after Trump himself pardoned more than 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, including over 300 who pleaded guilty to either assaulting or obstructing law enforcement.
One of those law enforcement officers who was assaulted on Jan. 6 was former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, who tells Mehdi that he “had to laugh” last week when Trump tried to claim he’s on the side of law enforcement.
“He is culpable of what led up to January six and the aftermath,” Gonell says to Mehdi. “He sat at the White House and as the events were happening, instead of calming the situation, he continued to tweet about it and make it more volatile for us on that day. And while he was watching it on TV, we were fighting for our lives trying to protect elected officials.”
Sgt. Gonell tells Mehdi that he was assaulted by more than 40 rioters that day and had to undergo two surgeries as a result. When asked what his reaction was when Trump pardoned those rioters on his first day back in office, Gonell told Mehdi it was like a “stab in the heart.”
“This is a consequence of people not believing that Donald Trump's gonna do what he says that he's gonna do,” Gonell tells Mehdi. “He pardoned these people, now he emboldened them, and instead of doing something positive with their lives, with their second chance, they decide to go back and harass the people who did the right thing on January 6th.”
Gonell was specifically referring to an incident a few weeks ago, when he and his fellow former Capitol Police officers were harassed by the ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio. Tarrio had previously been sentenced to over two decades in prison for his role in January 6th, but was ultimately pardoned by Trump.
If you are a paid subscriber, watch the full interview to hear Gonell tell Mehdi what it was like to continue protecting the GOP lawmakers who helped incite January 6th, how Capitol Police officers view Trump and his actions from that day, and how Gonell has to interact with members of his own family who still support Trump.
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