Former Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone, who was brutally assaulted during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, expressed his profound sense of betrayal after President Donald Trump pardoned more than 1,000 individuals convicted in connection with the insurrection.
"I have been betrayed by my country, and I have been betrayed by those who supported Donald Trump," Fanone told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
"I have been betrayed by my country": Former DC police officer Michael Fanone talks to Anderson after President Trump pardons more than 1,000 convicted of committing crimes during the January 6 attack on the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/fhN3dhqbPz
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) January 21, 2025
A judge concluded the riot, which left one officer and four rioters dead, was an act of terrorism, with Proud Boy leaders involved sentenced to up to 22 years. Among those pardoned was the man who tased Fanone in the neck during the riot. The individual had pleaded guilty to multiple charges and was serving a 12-year prison sentence.
Fanone lamented that the pardons undermine the sacrifices made by law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol against rioters attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.
"Tonight, six individuals who assaulted me as I did my job on January 6th, as did hundreds of other law enforcement officers, will now walk free," he said on CNN.
Trump, who referred to the rioters as "hostages" and "patriots" throughout his campaign, issued the "full, complete, and unconditional" pardons as one of his first acts after taking office. The move has drawn outrage from law enforcement officials and political opponents who see it as a dangerous endorsement of political violence.
Fanone, who retired due to the injuries he sustained, said he continues to receive death threats for speaking out against the attack and the pardons. He shared that his mother's home has been targeted, with a passerby throwing human feces at her while she gardened, and a recent anonymous call to 911 prompting a SWAT team to swarm her property.
"My family, my children and myself are less safe today because of Donald Trump and his supporters," Fanone told the outlet.
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