A former Washington, D.C., police officer who was assaulted during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Trump expressed outrage at newly revealed video showing Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) running through the Capitol to get away from the mob during the siege.
“The first thoughts that popped into my mind was Josh Hawley is a bitch. And he ran like a bitch,” Michael Fanone, who has since retired from law enforcement and is now a CNN contributor, told Politico on Thursday night.
During a prime-time hearing held by the select House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, the panel showed never-before-seen video of Hawley, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Congress, running from the mob just hours after he had been photographed outside the Capitol raising his fist in solidarity with the demonstrators who had gathered nearby before the breach began.
“The fist pump combined with what he did in the immediate aftermath just shows the true character or lack thereof,” Fanone said.
Asked about laughter that erupted in the hearing room Thursday night when the clip of Hawley running was shown, Fanone says he “sees the amusement in it.”
“And I’m not going to fault people finding it humorous but that pisses me off,” he said. “That guy’s a clown.”
Fanone suffered a heart attack during the riot, and two men have been charged and pleaded guilty in connection with his assault that day.
Hawley was the first senator to announce that he would object to the certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory in 2020.
The senator’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday afternoon, but hours earlier he tweeted out a link to purchase a mug emblazoned with the photo of him raising his first at the protesters.
Hawley’s reelection campaign began selling the mugs in February.