Capitol Officer Who Witnessed Jan. 6 Insurrection Goes Viral With Tweet About LA Protests

Staff Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, who lived through the January 6 insurrection and later testified before Congress, criticized President Donald Trump's demand to "bring in the troops" amid ongoing protests in Los Angeles against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's immigration raids.

Gonell testified after the attack that he and his fellow officers "were punched, pushed, kicked, shoved, sprayed with chemical irritants and even blinded with eye-damaging lasers by a violent mob who apparently saw us law enforcement officers, dedicated to ironically protecting them as U.S. citizens, as an impediment in their attempted insurrection."

Those words say everything about the assault by Trump's supporters, who stormed the U.S. Capitol on the false premise the 2020 election had been stolen. It's well known that Trump did not send troops to stop the insurrection despite the pleas of members of his first administration—but he sure is gung ho about sending troops to Los Angeles.

In fact, Trump took to Truth Social to declare that the situation is "really bad" in the city; so much so that he's chosen to "BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!"

  @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

But as Gonell pointed out:

"This is what Capitol police expected him [Trump] to do on Jan 6. Yet, he didn’t."

You can see his post below.

Many concurred.

Trump has repeatedly and falsely blamed Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for "not properly securing" the Capitol on January 6—even though the responsibility for security lies not with Pelosi but with the United States Capitol Police and its board, which can request help from federal as well as Washington, D.C., authorities.

In fact, there were numerous warnings about the possibility of an attack, but the Capitol Police planned only for a free speech demonstration and turned down offers of assistance from the Pentagon on two separate occasions.

Three days before the attack, the Pentagon had proposed deploying the National Guard. Then, as the mob advanced on the Capitol, it recommended bringing in agents from the FBI. The Capitol Police declined both offers of assistance—decisions that ultimately undermined the force’s ability to contain the escalating threat.

Contrary to what Trump may claim, his aides and allies recalled he had initially resisted sending in the National Guard even as rioters grew progressively more violent. His failure to respond has been seen as further evidence that he not only encouraged but ultimately endorsed the attack, and ultimately it was Vice President Mike Pence who mobilized the National Guard.