CNN / Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
- DC officer Michael Fanone met with Rep. Kevin McCarthy to discuss his experience during the January 6 insurrection.
- Fanone asked McCarthy to denounce conspiracy theories and GOP lawmakers who downplayed the Capitol riot.
- When asked if McCarthy agreed to his requests, Fanone said, “Not in my mind, no.”
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Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone said on Friday that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy did not agree to the officer’s request of him to denounce members of the House GOP who downplayed the Capitol riot.
Fanone was among the Washington, DC MPD and US Capitol Police officers who were on duty at the Capitol on January 6 when a mob of pro-Trump supporters breached and stormed the Capitol.
On Friday, Fanone and Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn met with McCarthy to describe their experience during the Capitol siege and ask the House Minority Leader to denounce members of his caucus who voted against legislation honoring the officers who were at the building during the insurrection.
“I asked McCarthy to denounce the Republicans that voted against the Gold Medal bill that would recognize and honor my coworkers and colleagues that fought to secure the Capitol on January 6,” Fanone told reporters at the Capitol.
Bodycam footage captured Fanone being assaulted during the Capitol insurrection, and at one point, he could be heard pleading, “I have kids.” Prosecutors said Fanone was hit several times with a stun gun, dragged down steps, and beaten with a flagpole, and he had a heart attack. Fanone told CNN he got post-traumatic stress disorder following the incident.
Fanone also said he asked McCarthy to denounce Rep. Andrew Clyde’s statement with regard to January 6. In May, Clyde compared those who entered the Capitol as tourists and said describing the riot as an insurrection is “a bald-faced lie.”
“I found those remarks to be disgusting,” Fanone said, adding that he asked McCarthy to publicly denounce conspiracy theories claiming the FBI had a role in the January 6 riot.
When asked if McCarthy agreed to his requests, Fanone said, “Not in my mind, no.”
“This is not something I enjoy doing. I don’t want to be on Capitol Hill. I want to be back home with my daughters,” Fanone said. “But I see this as an extension of my service on January 6, so many of my coworkers and colleagues like Harry are still at work, still doing their job, still fulfilling their oath.”
“So I’m trying to do the best job that I can to fulfill mine and support them,” he continued.
A representative from McCarthy’s office did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment.
-Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) June 25, 2021
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