Capitol police hero Michael Fanone heckled by Trump fans before counter protester ‘hits’ one with pole
‘He just hit me with his pole,’ Trump supporter can be heard saying in video as he lies by the kerb
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Your support makes all the difference.Former police officer Michael Fanone was seen being heckled by protesters outside of Thursday’s Jan 6 hearing.
In a video shared on social media by ABC News reporter Will Steakin, the former police officer is seen being surrounded by protesters filming themselves accosting him.
The video shows protesters following Mr Fanone as he leaves the Capitol building after the Jan 6 committee’s latest hearing.
The former District of Columbia police officer who suffered a heart attack after being beaten and attacked with a stun gun during the Jan 6 insurrection was attending Thursday’s committee hearing.
“Why were you there on January 6 when you were not even on duty?” a woman is seen asking Mr Fanone as he walks away.
She continues to follow him along with a few others, while asking him: “Are you a real police officer?”
She can also be seen asking him what he feels about having to spend years in jail “for making amends for your lies”.
Mr Fanone can then be seen moving back towards the building without responding as one man appears to be hit in the ensuing scuffle by a counter protester holding a flag pole with a hoarding that showed an image of Donald Trump and read: “Coup coup”.
The man hit by the flag pole falls by the kerb and can be heard screaming loudly as Mr Fanone walks back to their direction with a few security officers.
“He just hit me with his pole,” the Trump supporter, lying on the kerb, can be heard saying.
Mr Fanone was one of the many Metropolitan Police officers who responded to calls for assistance from the US Capitol Police as a mob of the former president’s supporters stormed the building in hopes of keeping Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Earlier on Thursday, he spoke at a sentencing hearing for riot defendant Lucas Denney, founder of the Patriot Boys of North Texas.
“During this onslaught at the door, I was dragged from the front of the police line, pulled into the crowd, and violently beaten and electrocuted with a stun gun,” he was quoted as saying in his victim impact statement by NBC News.
“The attackers attempted to remove my pistol from my utility belt; however, they were unsuccessful. I was eventually dragged back to the police line by demonstrators who intervened on my behalf. It is likely that without the intervention of those demonstrators, I would have lost my life.”
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