Capitol Police Officer Discusses Jan. 6 Hearings

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

SGT. AQUILINO GONELL, CAPITOL OFFICER INJURED ON JAN. 6:

MARTIN: Thanks Bianna. Sergeant Gonell, Thanks so much for talking with us.

GONELL: Thanks for having me Michel.

MARTIN: So leading up to January 6th, do you remember what did you expect? Like what were some of the conversations in the days leading up to it? Do you remember what you thought it was going to be like?

GONELL: I think leading up to the January 6th or Stop the Steal rally, there has been a lot of things on the news that I will consider alarming. But never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that our own people, our own American citizens, would attack police officers in full uniform. I saw a couple of things online because my subordinate show it to me the days prior. But we dealt with thousands and thousands of demonstrations, any given day. There’s a demonstration happening at the, at the capital. Some of them they’re large and they get noticed, some of them are just few people 20 or less. So it is no different. At that time we were doing the same protocol for everyone, so it is nothing out of norm. And unfortunately it didn’t pan out that way.

MARTIN: You testified last July before the investigators and gave some very graphic and very moving testimony and I’m sure it took a lot out of you to relive it for that. So I’m not gonna take you through that all again. But I was wondering at what point did you realize this is bad, this is getting bad and this is not what I thought it was gonna be?

GONELL: Well, the minute that I step outside by the inauguration stage, coming down where the same entrance where the president comes out to take the oath – that iconic arch going down those steps and hearing the crowd, the mob, chanting and just the roar of what they were saying. And the minute that I go all the way down the stage, there was no time for us to coordinate or plan anything. It’s like, you see your fellow officer. It didn’t matter what rank you were, you see them and we had to act. We went straight to help them out to get the mob – some of them that were tackling the officers, some of them were beating the officers. Some of them were pushing the officers to the ground. And you know, it was hard. I paused right before I went down, like this is gonna be a long day. And it certainly was a long day. Was I scared? Yes, I was scared, but for a minute. Then you push through. I had gone through combat in Iraq and some training. That kinda like gave me a sense of, okay, even though this is scary, we had, I had to go downstairs and, and help my fellow officers.

MARTIN: You talked about the fact in your testimony last summer, about how you were punched, pushed, kicked, shoved, sprayed with chemical irritants, blinded with eye damaging lasers… people called you names, basically challenging your loyalty or saying basically they were the Patriots that you were not. And I, I just have to ask, so now here we are, you know, months later. All of this investigation’s taken place, and now these hearings are bringing a lot of what you saw and experienced to the public in a way that maybe some haven’t seen before. And I wonder what’s this been like for you?

GONELL: At this point it is just reaffirming what I believe and what I lived through. It’s hard watching it, it’s hard reliving it, but one of the reason why I attend those hearings – and I’m planning to attend them all – is kbecause this personal to me, just because I was hurt the way I was beating up the way I was injured not only me, but the other officers as well. And personally I had seen a lot of those videos. I lived them, I lived the moment. There’s nothing that will make me change my mind that this was orchestrated and directed by somebody in the White House and I hold them responsible for it.

MARTIN: Have you learned anything in these hearings that you didn’t know? Is there something that struck you or that you hadn’t seen before or heard before? Is there something that’s particularly standing out for you right now?

GONELL: As I said in my testimony, this is not a – it wasn’t a coincidence that thousands of thousands of people gathered at the rally and then they decided to go to the Capitol. They were directed implicitly or you could say he didn’t force them, but he directed them. He pointed where to go. We going into the capital and, and we’re going show some of the elected officials and I’m paraphrasing here.

MARTIN: You’re talking about the former president.

GONELL: Correct.

MARTIN: Is there something in particular that you hope will come out of these hearings?

GONELL: Well, like everybody who’s watching, I think the people need to know what happened. The American people, the world needs to know what happened. And I think the January 6 Committee is doing a fantastic job so far in laying out the evidence that they had uncovered. I am done the role after they finish and they complete their investigation. If criminal charges are warranted for those who planned, orchestrated, aided and abetted, they should bring charges through the department of justice. And if that doesn’t happen, at least do it politically because this is bound to happen again, if nothing comes out of it, if nobody’s whole hold people accountable.

MARTIN: I know that you were quite seriously injured. I know that you haven’t been able to go back to full duty, right? I mean, I think you’re on desk duty, is that right? Because –

GONELL: I am, I have been for the past year and a half, I’ve been – since January 20th – I have been on restricted duty one way or another. I had two surgeries already, one my foot, and while my left shoulder. Both of them has been long and painful. Mentally, I’m receiving treatment through a psychologist. So it has been hard. It’s taking a toll and, but I am making progress. I have a good support system with my wife and my son and, and a puppy and relatives. But the support that we need in terms of accountability that has been seen very loosey until recently, because the new evidence that has been brought, brought out to light by the committee. And I hope that with those materials, then either the recommendation to the department of justice will be made criminally or politically, and also for other people to Sue civilly. For what, what happened if those people are deemed compromised or responsible for what happened.

MARTIN: Do you think you’ll be able to go back to your old job? Would you want to?

GONELL: As of right now? I don’t know. It’s mixed feelings. I want, I like to do my job. I’ve been there for 17 years. It is mentally draining seeing what happened and some of the revelations that have come out. My physical therapist cleared me three days ago and I still have some limitations. I’m not 100%. And those remaining issues are lifelong injuries that — as a result of what happened on January 6th. It’s unfortunate that some of the same people who we protected that day – they would rather be fighting for the “political prisoners, the Patriots, for the tourists” that are in jail for assaulting police officers. And then they turn around and every time they get a chance publicly, they go, well, “We support the Blue, We Back the Blue.” Thank you, police officer, for helping us and this-and-that. But I think that mantra is already on the floor. Nobody, I don’t believe it. And no matter how many times they say it, because they have a chance to do the right thing. And a lot of people praise former attorney general William Barr for coming forward and testifying. I don’t, because he had the opportunity to say those things without having been subpoenaed. He could have done that for the impeachment, the second impeachment and the other people who testify as well, too. They’re only doing it because they got subpoenaed. And I think me as an immigrant has shown more loyalty to the country, to the oath than some of the very same people who were inside the White House with the president. And that’s just a lot.

MARTIN: You have sacrificed a lot. I mean, you’re, you know, it’s hard to leave everything, you know, to come to a new place, even if it’s for opportunity, even if it’s in the hope of a better life, it’s still hard. It’s hard to leave your family and your friends and everything that’s familiar. And you came here and you served your country in uniform, you served in combat overseas. And I just wonder, you know, as a police officer trying to defend the capital that day, and I wonder, has this changed how you feel about the country that you have embraced?

GONELL: Watching how we are promoting the U.S. overseas – you can reach your, your the American dream by house. You study your work make it to the middle class and, and so forth. And then we had your values in doing the right thing. I think I had tried to do that my whole life and not perfect. I’ll tell you that, but I do try. And when I had taken that oath of defending the constitution and doing my job – I’ve done that several times already, both in the military and as a police officer – and it’s the same oath, the political figure elected official take. And I see that they are not honoring that oath. On January 6th, I saw plenty of police officers attacking other police officers. I saw veterans – army veterans, or military veterans – attacking the police officers. I saw active members of the military attacking the police officers and myself. And then you had the elected leaders attacking those officers, claiming that we are beating up innocent people, even though they were pushing and attacking us; or we use we were doing police abuse on, on, on the rioters when they are the one who breached the capital, multiple layers after layer, after layer, just to try to get into the capital and either execute people, kill people, be people who worked there just because they don’t, they wanted to stop the transfer power. Those values that day was shaken to me because I’m like, not even in Iraq during my time that I went through something like this. Mm. And that was very disappointing.

MARTIN: Before we let you go, Sergeant, is there anything given you hope right now?

GONELL: I’m still hopeful that we’ll get through all these things. It’s just painful to see that so many people fell for that lie and even after risking my life for them, they still deny that something bad happened at the Capitol that day. If you take anything from what I’m saying now, just think about this. We had the president of the United States 16 blocks away sitting down, watching while his supporters were beating up police officers. And inside the building, we were trying to protect – we had the vice president, his wife, his daughter, the nuclear codes, and then you had the next two people in line to the succession of the Presidency: Speaker Pelosi in the Senate. And then you had all the members of the Senate and the House. If that is not a national security–I cannot explain to you how bad that would have been. If you look at how the mob–what the mob did when they breached the Senate. They started going through the desks of the senators. Imagine if they would put that nuclear code on YouTube or on video for our adversaries, like China and Russia, to take a look at what we have in that nuclear football. Or several members of Congress who had died or senators. Let’s say 20, 25. You pick a number. One. That would have been bad for our democracy. And the only person who had influence over that mob was sitting across 16 blocks away from the Capitol. And that should scare you, that if he gets in power again, he might be able to do this again. I hope that people do pay attention, especially those who need it the most and only look and, and see one channel. I think they should be opening their eyes and, and, and open their mind to a possibility that what happened on January 6th, it is as bad as it sounds. Because it could happen again. And, and if it does, it’s gonna be more serious and more consequential than whatever happened.

MARTIN: Sergeant Cannell, thank you so much for speaking to us today. And I do wish you well, I do wish you very well on your recovery and hope that you’ll have continued healing.

GONELL: Michel, thank you for having me.