Couple of guys taking selfies huh?

Washington (CNN)US Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell was beaten with a flagpole. His hand was sliced open. He was hit with so much chemical spray that the liquid soaked through to his skin. During intense hand-to-hand combat with rioters on the west front of the US Capitol on January 6, there were moments where Gonell thought he might die.

"They called us traitors. They beat us. They dragged us," Gonell told CNN, in his first interview about the violence he experienced and witnessed on January 6. "And I could hear them, 'We're going to shoot you. We're going to kill you. You're choosing your paycheck over the country. You're a disgrace. You're a traitor.'"

Several hundred feet away that same day, US Capitol Police Officer Byron Evans was inside the locked Senate chamber with 100 senators and Vice President Mike Pence, hand on his weapon and mentally preparing for a life-or-death situation to come through the doors.

"I remember thinking, all that stuff like, Byron, this is the day. All those times you've given thought on what you would do, you're doing it. This is the day," Evans said.

"This could be the day that I may have to use deadly force," he said. "I had already heard of shots fired over the radio."

Gonell and Evans are just two of the thousands of US Capitol Police officers, Metropolitan Police officers, National Guard troops and federal agents who battled violent rioters, protected lawmakers at the Capitol and rushed in to try to stop the deadly riot that unfolded at the heart of American democracy. The two officers publicly shared their experiences on January 6 for the first time with CNN, offering a window into how the law enforcement officers at the Capitol that day are still struggling to make sense of what happened, and grappling with guilt that more wasn't done to stop it.

Senate GOP blocks bipartisan commission into Capitol attack 03:03

CNN spoke to Evans in an interview arranged by US Capitol Police after CNN had requested to speak to officers who had been on the ground January 6. Gonell spoke to CNN in his personal capacity and did not represent the department.

The repercussions of the January 6 insurrection continue to ripple across Washington, as congressional Democrats and Republicans bitterly battle over what more should be done to investigate the circumstances leading up to the insurrection and the security failures that day. Republicans blocked the formation of an independent commission last week. For many Capitol Police officers, the attempts by some Republicans to whitewash the January 6 attack have stung, exposing a fractured relationship between the officers and the lawmakers they protect.

Especially after the mother and girlfriend of fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick embarked on a last-minute lobbying campaign to try to convince GOP senators to support the commission, many officers were left deeply disappointed after the bill failed to pass.

'Fighting inch by inch'

For Gonell, the wounds of January 6 are all too apparent.

His shooting hand was sliced open during the attack, making pulling the trigger of his gun a challenge. His shoulders still have contusions. He tried to walk off an injury to his right foot, but two weeks after the attack, he said, he finally sought medical help because he couldn't walk anymore. As a result, Gonell needed bone fusion surgery so he could walk without the pain returning.

Gonell said the FBI has asked him to view video of the attack to help identify the rioters. It's still difficult for him to watch footage of the events of January 6, he said, having to relive the battles that he fought while he was under assault.

Officer Gonell

Gonell immigrated to the US from the Dominican Republic when he was 12, eventually joining the Army Reserve and deploying to Iraq in 2003. He joined the Capitol Police force in 2008. As a leader of the department's Civil Disturbance Unit, he was one of a fraction of officers in riot gear on January 6 and fought on the front lines against rioters he says attacked at the direction of then-President Donald Trump.

"When we were in the Lower West Terrace and throughout the whole ordeal I had people calling me immigrant, you're not American, you are a traitor," Gonell said. "I went overseas to protect our homeland from foreign threats, but yet here I am battling them in our own Capitol."

He still has a vivid memory of the battle he faced: of the pepper spray that forced him and other officers from the front line, of the American flag poles, rocks and even guardrails pried from the inaugural stage that were used to attack officers, and of the struggle to keep the flood of insurrectionists from forcing their way into the door he was guarding.

"I bled, I sweat and I fought to prevent those people coming in through that entrance," Gonell said. "We got pushed back all the way to magnetometer by the second door. And just to regain that space took us about another hour. We literally were fighting inch by inch. And to move one step, that was a 10-minute, 15-minute ordeal."

Exclusive: 'All talk and no action': Sicknick's mother and girlfriend say they were disappointed by GOP senators

In one particularly harrowing incident, Gonell said he pulled an officer who had fallen to the ground back away from the rioters. Then the mob grabbed onto him. For the next five minutes, Gonnell said, he was in a fight for his life as rioters grabbed onto anything they could, pulling on his riot shield, his shoulder straps and his uniform.

"It was very scary, because I thought I was going to lose my life," Gonell said. "Then I started getting beat up with a flagpole, with a flag, the American flag that I swore to defend here and overseas. And I don't know how I got this strength, but I hit that person so hard that they let me go. I started backpedaling."

'Y'all, they are in the building'

Evans has served as a Capitol Police officer for 16 years, working primarily in and around the Senate chamber.

He was on a scheduled break on January 6 when he first heard on the police radio the danger that officers were suddenly facing as rioters broke through the police line.

"You could just hear the tone in officers' voices that were coming across the radio," Evans said, explaining that he had raced back to the Senate and locked down the Capitol door at his post near the chamber.

Soon he was approached by Eugene Goodman, the Capitol Police officer who minutes later would heroically lead the insurrectionists up a flight of stairs and away from the Senate chamber doors.

Officer Evans

"I went to my sergeant and told him I think we need to lock down the chamber," Evans explained. "And as I'm having that conversation with him, another officer comes up, Eugene Goodman, and he tells us, 'Y'all, they are in the building.' "

When the Senate chamber was locked down, Evans was inside bracing for the worst. He was nearby when Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, was on the phone with Trump -- a conversation that would later become a heated part of Trump's Senate impeachment trial.

Evans aided in the evacuation of the 100 senators and Pence. Once the senators were safely in lockdown, Evans said, televisions were wheeled into the room and they all got their first glimpse of what was unfolding.

"I just remember the anger I felt when I saw those images, busting windows, climbing the walls and stuff like that. It was an audible gasp in the room, seeing those images," he said.

The images of insurrectionists on the Senate floor where he had been just minutes earlier were the most jarring.

'They think we're like servants': Inside the fractured relationship between the Capitol Police and members of Congress

"You just feel a personal connection to something that you protect every single day, and then to see the, on the floor, just doing whatever they wanted to do, doing things that no one is allowed to do, so, so cavalier -- it definitely made you angry," Evans said. "To see them up there, like it was some fun house, that will always stick in my mind."

'I just started crying'

Gonell said he had been fighting for roughly five hours before he was able to get a break and contact his family.

"I started texting my wife and I just said, 'I'm OK. See you whenever,' " he said, explaining that he meant he had no idea when he would be back home.

Sicknick's partner: Vote against Jan. 6 commission 'speaks volumes' 04:47

Gonell finally returned home at 3 a.m., but he couldn't hug his wife yet. "When I came in, she wanted to hug me, and I told her no, because I was covered in pepper spray and I didn't want to get that on her. I was injured. My hands were bleeding still."

After showering -- which Gonell said was painful because the chemical spray had soaked through to his skin -- he finally hugged his wife. He started crying, he said, out of relief but also because he was fighting feelings of guilt that he couldn't do more.

"Everything that happened," Gonell explained. "I didn't think I would be able to see them. I went to my son's bed and gave him a hug. He was asleep still. Gave him a kiss. And I just started crying, for like five, 10 minutes. I just cried. She kept telling me it was going to be OK. I'm like, 'No, I've got to go back to work. I've got to go back to work.' I felt guilty. I still do."

Evans said that Capitol Police officers have gotten closer in the weeks after the attack as they've sought out some kind of return to normalcy at the Capitol. He said he had to stop watching videos showing what happened on January 6 because he would get too angry about it.

"That's the feeling that I'll never shake," he said.

Both Evans and Gonell say they've struggled with the aftermath of the riots, with some Republicans opposing a commission to investigate what happened to them and downplaying the attack itself, even comparing the rioters to normal tourists.

"What kind of tour have you been on that you get beat up? What kind of tour? I'm still recovering from my hugs and kisses that day. My shoulder hurts, my mental, physical -- it's been straining," Gonell said.

"I got hurt protecting them. And I would do it again if I have to. It's my job," he added. "It's inconceivable that they don't even want to find out how to prevent this in the future."

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Hardcore troubadour · June 7, 2021

It was mostly peaceful though.

Voltaire · June 7, 2021

Utilit99 · June 7, 2021

:lol:

listen2me 23 · June 7, 2021

https://mobile.twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1401712687642517507

^

Meanwhile Liberal extremism is on day 426 of destruction. Canada may be more f*cked by Liberals than America.

The new normal. But only thr Libs are allowed to play.

Gladiators · June 7, 2021

Poor Wiff. Just can't move on.

TBayXXXVII · June 7, 2021

5 hours ago, wiffleball said:

'I thought I was going to lose my life': Capitol Police officers share their harrowing January 6 stories for the first time

By Whitney Wild and Jeremy Herb, CNN

CNN? Not a reliable news source.

Voltaire · June 7, 2021

6 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

CNN? Not a reliable news source.

They're quoting named sources, so the odds that the reporters are fabricating this story are extremely low. The injuries that Officer Gonell claims are surely verifiable and I've got no reason to disbelieve the story he tells about how he got them.

I think the article is alright, I don't like that they used the word 'insurrectionists' to describe the unauthorized tourists who got a little carried away, but that's CNN.

TBayXXXVII · June 7, 2021

2 minutes ago, Voltaire said:

They're quoting named sources, so the odds that the reporters are fabricating this story are extremely low. The injuries that Officer Gonell claims are surely verifiable and I've got no reason to disbelieve the story he tells about how he got them.

I think the article is alright, I don't like that they used the word 'insurrectionists' to describe the unauthorized tourists who got a little carried away, but that's CNN.

I just see CNN and I ignore it. I don't think that they're making this stuff up, but I'm willing to bet that they went out of their way to find the ones that agree with their point of view. They may have 50 accounts that they're reporting on... but ignored a thousand that didn't agree with them. Hence, why I say they're not a reliable source.

RaiderHaters Revenge · June 7, 2021

And AOC has ptsd from being in a war

MDC · June 7, 2021

This story is way overblown. It’s focked up that they were inspired by the outgoing president’s fraud delusions and sore loser crybaby whining. But the violence was minimal and many of the perps have been arrested.

The only interesting angle here is the hypocrisy of the “law and order” POTUS and his acolytes soft pedaling a riot. But we all knew they were hypocrites already.

Prolly time to move on Wiff.

Utilit99 · June 7, 2021

Cities burn across the US, businesses destroyed, people killed = mostly peaceful

Some dude had pepper spray on his hands and he cried = insurrection

:blink:

MDC · June 7, 2021

6 minutes ago, Utilit99 said:

Cities burn across the US, businesses destroyed, people killed = mostly peaceful

Some dude had pepper spray on his hands and he cried = insurrection

Some of us don’t support looting / fires OR breaking into federal buildings and beating cops.

Voltaire · June 7, 2021

9 minutes ago, Utilit99 said:

Cities burn across the US, businesses destroyed, people killed = mostly peaceful

Some dude had pepper spray on his hands and he cried = insurrection

The hero cop who saved a life by shooting a deranged, fat knife wiedling lunatic is denounced, doxed and has his picture posted on Twitter.

The Capitol Hill cop who shot a petite 110 pound unarmed woman climbing a fence remains anonymous and his case is investigatged quietly and privately, then dismissed without a reprimand.

fandandy · June 7, 2021

1 hour ago, Gladiators said:

Poor Wiff. Just can't move on.

Trump broke him.

He's like Humpty Dumpty now. All of Biden's horses and all of Biden's men can't put poor Wiff back together again.

Hardcore troubadour · June 7, 2021

1 hour ago, Gladiators said:

Poor Wiff. Just can't move on.

And he cares about cops now. He’s usually hysterical about them. Trump messed him up man.

wiffleball · June 7, 2021

...breadcrumbs to ducks...

Hardcore troubadour · June 7, 2021

23 minutes ago, wiffleball said:

...breadcrumbs to ducks...

Right. You’re one crafty cat, wiffleball. Watch out for this guy!

IGotWorms · June 7, 2021

8 hours ago, MDC said:

This story is way overblown. It’s focked up that they were inspired by the outgoing president’s fraud delusions and sore loser crybaby whining. But the violence was minimal and many of the perps have been arrested.

The only interesting angle here is the hypocrisy of the “law and order” POTUS and his acolytes soft pedaling a riot. But we all knew they were hypocrites already.

Prolly time to move on Wiff.

Well said.

fandandy · June 7, 2021

11 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Right. You’re one crafty cat, wiffleball. Watch out for this guy!

Literally drinking himself to death and he still thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. :wacko:

wiffleball · June 8, 2021

5 hours ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Right. You’re one crafty cat, wiffleball. Watch out for this guy!

Shame we don't have the ' time spent on board' functionality.

Lol

Utilit99 · June 8, 2021

2 minutes ago, wiffleball said:

Shame we don't have the ' time spent on board' functionality.

Lol

Or the dumbest liberal take functionality. :lol:

KSB2424 · June 8, 2021

Well, here goes.....

Obviously any group of people walking into the Capitol Building is not good. Not only is is not good, it is embarrassing, it is dangerous and stupid. It put's people like the Capitol Police in horrible situations. Not a fan.

With that said, not so much earlier in history there were people beating down the Supreme Court of America's doors over the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. There were not so much of a whisper said of "insurrection'. And a year later local and state facilities were attacked, burned and looted. All that was deemed "peaceful protesting". So excuse me if some people take a step back and tell people like @wiffleballand their ilk to go fock themselves.

IGotWorms · June 8, 2021

4 minutes ago, KSB2424 said:

Well, here goes.....

Obviously any group of people walking into the Capitol Building is not good. Not only is is not good, it is embarrassing, it is dangerous and stupid. It put's people like the Capitol Police in horrible situations. Not a fan.

With that said, not so much earlier in history there were people beating down the Supreme Court of America's Supreme Court doors over the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. There were not so much of a whisper said of "insurrection'. And a year later local and state facilities were attacked, burned and looted. All that was deemed "peaceful protesting". So excuse me if some people take a step back and tell people like @wiffleballand their ilk to go fock themselves.

lol the kavanaugh protests? Really??? That’s all you’ve got?! :lol: :doublethumbsup:

KSB2424 · June 8, 2021

10 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

lol the kavanaugh protests? Really??? That’s all you’ve got?!

It's not all I got, but one example. The other are years long burning and looting and killing in cities.

However I'm sure you were mortified by this.....

This is what real crazy looks like:

wiffleball · June 8, 2021

Mike lindell, Sidney powell, Donald trump. Yeah talk about not being able to move on...

dogcows · June 8, 2021

18 minutes ago, KSB2424 said:

Well, here goes.....

Obviously any group of people walking into the Capitol Building is not good. Not only is is not good, it is embarrassing, it is dangerous and stupid. It put's people like the Capitol Police in horrible situations. Not a fan.

With that said, not so much earlier in history there were people beating down the Supreme Court of America's doors over the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. There were not so much of a whisper said of "insurrection'. And a year later local and state facilities were attacked, burned and looted. All that was deemed "peaceful protesting". So excuse me if some people take a step back and tell people like @wiffleballand their ilk to go fock themselves.

What-about-ism. Any time the Capitol insurrection is mentioned, it’s like the ghost of Pavlov rings his bell and the dogs start barking about fires in Portland. You’ve been trained well. Good doggies, have some Fox-News emblazoned biscuits!

Hardcore troubadour · June 8, 2021

13 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

lol the kavanaugh protests? Really??? That’s all you’ve got?!

Is that all he mentioned ? No, it’s not. Pay attention

KSB2424 · June 8, 2021

3 minutes ago, dogcows said:

What-about-ism. Any time the Capitol insurrection is mentioned, it’s like the ghost of Pavlov rings his bell and the dogs start barking about fires in Portland. You’ve been trained well. Good doggies, have some Fox-News emblazoned biscuits!

A compare and contrast is not a "what about ism." It's a benchmark to have an anchor of conversation.

Stop deflecting and answer my direct question.

Utilit99 · June 8, 2021

19 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

lol the kavanaugh protests? Really??? That’s all you’ve got?!

Does this work? Want a ton more? Want all the damage done? May take a while to get that much data together.

Voltaire · June 8, 2021

3 hours ago, Utilit99 said:

Does this work? Want a ton more? Want all the damage done? May take a while to get that much data together.

It does work, but it's sad and disturbing.

I like laughing so I prefer footage of the hightstepping turdslurper with his shoes on fire along with all things Chaz. My favorite Chaz moment is the guy admiring all the beautiful phalluses and graffitti art is livestreaming in Chaz when someone else mugs him, steals the camera, and runs off with it while the livestream continues.

TimHauck · June 8, 2021

14 hours ago, KSB2424 said:

Well, here goes.....

Obviously any group of people walking into the Capitol Building is not good. Not only is is not good, it is embarrassing, it is dangerous and stupid. It put's people like the Capitol Police in horrible situations. Not a fan.

With that said, not so much earlier in history there were people beating down the Supreme Court of America's doors over the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. There were not so much of a whisper said of "insurrection'. And a year later local and state facilities were attacked, burned and looted. All that was deemed "peaceful protesting". So excuse me if some people take a step back and tell people like @wiffleballand their ilk to go fock themselves.

Over 100 people were arrested at the Kavanaugh protests, they never got inside the Supreme Court building, and the Capitol was closed to the public due to covid restrictions.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/02/03/fact-check-capitol-riot-2018-kavanaugh-protests-meme-lacks-context/4343790001/

Hardcore troubadour · June 8, 2021

7 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

Over 100 people were arrested at the Kavanaugh protests, they never got inside the Supreme Court building, and the Capitol was closed to the public due to covid restrictions.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/02/03/fact-check-capitol-riot-2018-kavanaugh-protests-meme-lacks-context/4343790001/

We’re they kept in jail without bail, some of them in solitary?

Utilit99 · June 8, 2021

15 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

Over 100 people were arrested at the Kavanaugh protests, they never got inside the Supreme Court building, and the Capitol was closed to the public due to covid restrictions.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/02/03/fact-check-capitol-riot-2018-kavanaugh-protests-meme-lacks-context/4343790001/

TimHauck · June 8, 2021

6 minutes ago, Utilit99 said:

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/12/10/twin-cities-man-first-to-be-sentenced-for-arson-from-may-unrest

Utilit99 · June 8, 2021

1 hour ago, TimHauck said:

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/12/10/twin-cities-man-first-to-be-sentenced-for-arson-from-may-unrest

Go figure. :doh:

Fornandous Cortez

he was angry at law enforcement over Floyd’s death.

Burn all the shlt down!

TBayXXXVII · June 8, 2021

15 hours ago, KSB2424 said:

A compare and contrast is not a "what about ism." It's a benchmark to have an anchor of conversation.

Stop deflecting and answer my direct question.

"what about ism" is the phrase Democrats use when they want to hide their hypocrisy.

TBayXXXVII · June 8, 2021

1 hour ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

We’re they kept in jail without bail, some of them in solitary?

"fact check" means "Liberal spin to what happened".

dogcows · June 9, 2021

23 hours ago, KSB2424 said:

A compare and contrast is not a "what about ism." It's a benchmark to have an anchor of conversation.

Stop deflecting and answer my direct question.

Changing the topic from Jan 6 to literally anything else as soon as it comes up is the true deflection… especially when comparing it to something completely different. I still don’t get why people are defending the insurrectionists. Probably because they wish they had been there too.

Utilit99 · June 9, 2021

6 minutes ago, dogcows said:

Changing the topic from Jan 6 to literally anything else as soon as it comes up is the true deflection… especially when comparing it to something completely different. I still don’t get why people are defending the insurrectionists. Probably because they wish they had been there too.

No. Just comparing the lack of violence at the capital with the massive amount of violence and destruction committed by the libs all last year.

It wss all bad but the libs are disgusting.

That's all.

Couple of guys taking selfies huh?

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