“I Refuse to Stay Silent On a Matter That Affects Us All”: Officer Michael Fanone Condemns MAGA Extremism Ahead of January 6th Anniversary
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Courage for America Council Member and former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone spoke with Dennis Owens of Pennsylvania’s ABC27 to commemorate the third anniversary of the January 6th attack and highlight the magnitude and danger of political violence and extremism affecting our democracy. Below is a transcript of the interview:
*TRANSCRIPT*
Alicia Richards: Saturday is the third anniversary of the attack by fellow Americans on the U.S. Capitol. A police officer who was seriously injured that day is sounding the alarm tonight that the problems that led to that riot have not been fixed and it could happen again. He brought that message to the state capitol and spoke with our Dennis Owens.
Officer Michael Fanone: What you saw unfold before your very eyes on television is what happened.
B-Roll from Officer Fanone’s body-cam footage from January 6, 2021
Dennis Owens: And this is what unfolded before Michael Fanone’s eyes. Video from his body cam shows the D.C. Police officer beaten by the mob, even tased in the neck.
End of B-Roll
Fanone: And as a result I suffered a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury.
Owens: Fanone says equally traumatic, the flames of electoral mistrust continue to be fanned as another divisive election looms.
Fanone: Same rhetoric, the same lies that inspired the January 6th insurrection continue to be spoken by members of one political party.
Owens: Indeed a recent AP poll shows 9 in 10 Democrats describe January 6th as quote “very violent”, but only 3 in 10 Republicans do. Fanone’s reaction.
Fanone: It’s “bull****. Regardless of your political ideology, it was violent. It really happened. It was supporters of the former president and a lot of police officers were hurt in the process.
B-Roll from Officer Fanone’s testimony to the House select committee investigating January 6.
Fanone: The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful!
End of B-Roll
Owens: Fanone is tattooed, likes to fish and hunt, self-described redneck from Virginia who voted for Donald Trump in 2016. The former president denies any wrongdoing, and insists he played no role in that riot. Fanone insists otherwise.
Fanone: Absolutely. 100%. What’s even crazier to me is how he has doubled down on that rhetoric in the aftermath.
Owens: Now retired from police work, Fanone wrote a book about that day and visited the state capitol as part of an educational tour, he says, to alert Americans that it could happen again.
Fanone: Steer clear of these conspiracy theories. People just need to listen to the facts.
Owens: And to Fanone, the facts are simple. No election was stolen, but officers were hurt because politicians said that it was.
B-Roll from a Courage for America event
Fanone: I refuse to stay silent on a matter that affects us all.
End of B-Roll
To view the full interview, click HERE.
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