Republican members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives booed and hissed as two US Capitol Police officers were introduced onto the floor on Wednesday - before walking out when the “heroes” were honored.
Former US Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and former sergeant Aquilino Gonell, who served during the January 6 riots, are touring Pennsylvania this week to campaign for President Joe Biden’s reelection.
They were welcomed into the chamber by House Speaker Joanna McClinton for having “bravely defended democracy in the United States Capitol against rioters and insurrection on January 6.” Other reps refered them as “heroes” when they were introduced on the floor.
Then, the Pennsylvania House sprung into chaos, The Washington Post reported.
Several Republican lawmakers vocalized their disapproval, with a number of them walking out of the chamber. Multiple representatives wrote about the incident on X. The interaction lasted less than five minutes and there were about 100 lawmakers in the chamber at the time.
The Pennsylvania House has 203 members — 101 Republicans and 102 Democrats.
“The @PAHouseGOP like many elected officials I helped protect and defend at the US Capitol, have abandoned the truth/sided with those who attacked us, the police, while at the same time saying they support the police and the rule of law,” Gonell wrote on the social media platform.
Speaker McClinton later addressed the matter in a written statement.
“This week, the state House saw despicable behavior from some of our GOP members when welcoming former Capitol police officer Harry Dunn and former Sergeant Aquilino Gonnell to recognize and thank them for their service and heroism in defense of our democracy on 6 January 2021,” she said on X.
“These brave law enforcement officers were disrespected by many Republican members who walked off the House floor, turned their backs and booed the officers.
“The GOP members’ shameful behavior was unbecoming of our institution for any guest, let alone two of the men responsible for defending our democracy during a dark day in our nation’s history.”
Other lawmakers said they were “dumbfounded” by the GOP members’ actions and described them as shameful.
Dunn was pepper sprayed and injured when battling hand-to-hand conflict on January 6, while both of Gonnell’s hands were injured as he tried to stop an attacker from hitting an officer who wasn’t wearing a helmet with a PVC pipe.
The two men have been politically active since the event, with Dunn recently launching an unsuccessful campaign to be nominated as a Democrat for a Maryland seat in the US House.
Though there has traditionally been widespread support for law enforcement officials across the aisle, the January 6 riots have shown polarization between the parties over the actions of the day and Capitol police.
One Democratic lawmaker told The Washington Post that while there were a number of Republican lawmakers who stood and applauded a “majority did not.”
