Pa. GOP lawmakers who booed Capitol Police officers were really showing their disdain for democracy
The way Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell were received in the General Assembly was ugly, shameful, and dangerous.
Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell are still fighting.
The former Capitol Police officers, who squared off with the insurrectionists on Jan. 6, 2021, aren’t doing battle physically, as they did when roughly 2,000 rioters sought to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
These days, Dunn and Gonell are beating back misinformation, disinformation, and selective amnesia about Jan. 6 by traveling the country and sharing their stories about the horrific attack on American democracy that took place on that awful day.
Former President Donald Trump has taken to referring to the insurrectionists as “warriors” and “victims,” as he did Sunday in Nevada. They are not. The only true warriors from Jan. 6 are Dunn, Gonell, and all of the law enforcement officers from multiple agencies who risked their lives to protect legislators and ensure that the will of the nation’s voters prevailed over the whims of a violent mob.
So when I heard Dunn and Gonell were headed to The Inquirer newsroom to meet with the Editorial Board last week, I dropped everything. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to interview them, even if it meant jumping onto a video conference call to do so.
Dunn and Gonell met with the board last Thursday, a day after Pennsylvania House Republicans had the nerve to boo them inside the state Capitol building in Harrisburg on Wednesday as they were being recognized by Speaker Joanna McClinton.
» READ MORE: Some Republicans booed or walked out as Pa. House recognized Jan. 6 Capitol police officers
Several GOP House members reportedly walked off the floor in protest, and at least one state official yelled out “traitor” at the men. Politics aside, the way Dunn and Gonell were received in the General Assembly was ugly, shameful, and dangerous.
Ugly because it reinforces the terrible divisions that split the country in the months after the 2020 election and persist to this day.
Shameful because these officers, who went above and beyond in doing their duty on Jan. 6, deserve to have their bravery recognized. (Plus, I thought the GOP was the “party of law and order,” right?)
And dangerous because by continuing to question the results of the election — long after the outcome has been settled, and Trump’s baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud debunked — those Republicans are expressing their contempt for democracy and their willingness to undercut the system if it produces outcomes they disagree with.
We must never forget Jan. 6.
No matter how much Republicans try to gaslight us and downplay what happened.
No matter if Trump manages to get reelected and pardons rioters who have already been convicted.
No matter even if the two-faced GOPers — like former presidential candidate Nikki Haley and Sen. Mitch McConnell — who initially condemned Trump, but now endorse his candidacy, continue with their charade.
Never forget, America.
Every so often, I make myself pause and rewatch video snippets of the horror Capitol Police officers like Dunn and Gonell endured to remind myself how horrific it all was.
I look at that sea of Trump supporters, many wearing red MAGA hats, fighting against law enforcement, and just shake my head.
Gonell sustained multiple injuries, and estimates he was attacked by more than 40 people in an entranceway he and other officers defended. He said he thought he was going to die multiple times that day.
Trump’s supporters hurled racial slurs at Dunn, who is African American, as he valiantly defended the U.S. Capitol and our democracy.
Both men will forever bear scars both seen and unseen because of what they endured on Jan. 6.
“They claim that they are pro-law and order. I don’t think so.”
“To this day, Donald Trump, he tells the people at his rallies, ‘Rise up for the unjustly mistreated hostages,’” Gonell said when I asked him about the former president’s recent messaging. “But they claim that they support the police. They claim that they are pro-law and order. I don’t think so.”
Dunn said he wasn’t surprised by the nasty reception he and Gonell received from some Republicans in Harrisburg.
“Donald Trump has supporters who will stick by him no matter what,” he said. “In Harrisburg yesterday, I would have loved the opportunity to have talked to some of the lawmakers that walked out on us. They didn’t give us an opportunity.”
Don’t worry, I wanted to say. We’ll all have the chance to let them know how we feel on Nov. 5.