Former U.S. Capitol police officers campaigning for President Joe Biden in battleground states urge Arizonans to remember Jan. 6.
Former Sgt. Aquilino Gonell and former Officer Harry Dunn recounted their experience on Jan. 6 at a campaign event on Thursday.
Gonell said he was insulted, beaten, kicked and nearly killed repeatedly at the Capitol. He resigned after sustaining permanent injuries.
Gonnell referred to former President Donald Trump’s statements that he will inspire violence if he isn’t elected again.
“He says that there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he's not elected. It is no longer a question what will he do if he wins. He's telling us what he's gonna do,” Gonell said.
Dunn said that even though Jan. 6 happened a long time ago, the danger remains.
“The fight didn't end on January 6, when the building was cleared. The fight still continues, which is why me and the Sergeant are standing right here now, 3 1/2 years later. The fight for democracy still continues. It still goes on. Donald Trump is still that threat,” Dunn said.
Both officers also said that there still hasn’t been full accountability for the events that day as several Republicans do not condemned he violence and not all of the indicted perpetrators have been sentenced yet.
Trump has also said repeatedly that he intends to pardon people who participated in Jan. 6, and commonly refers to them as “patriots,” “prisoners” and “hostages.”
“LET THE JANUARY 6 PRISONERS GO. THEY WERE CONVICTED, OR ARE AWAITING TRIAL, BASED ON A GIANT LIE, A RADICAL LEFT CON JOB.” Trump posted on Truth Social in March 2023.
“Donald Trump; he’s running on Jan. 6,” Gonell said. “Dangling pardons to the same people who nearly killed me and my colleagues and the elected officials.”
“Until my last breath, I'll make sure that people don't forget about it. … He would do it again. He's already told us he would do it again,” Dunn said.
The officers say they will continue to travel to other swing states in the coming months to spread the same message.
