Former D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone slammed dozens of House Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) who on Tuesday introduced a resolution declaring Donald Trump did not engage in insurrection.
Fanone, who was violently assaulted by the former president’s supporters during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, called for Gaetz and every supporter of the resolution to be held accountable for their lies and efforts to undermine democracy.
“This resolution is a slap in the face to those of us who almost lost everything defending the Capitol on January 6th, including protecting some of the very Members of Congress who are now attempting to rewrite history to exonerate former President Trump,” Fanone said in a statement via Courage for America, a group opposing House GOP extremism.
“But no piece of paper signed by a group of spineless extremists will ever change the facts about that dark day: the insurrection was violent, it was deadly and it will happen again if we do not expunge the MAGA ideology that stoked the flames of insurrection in the first place.”
Gaetz and 62 House Republicans signed on to the symbolic resolution, which states that Trump “did not engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or give aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
It serves to downplay Trump’s role in the deadly riot as courts and election officials weigh whether he is eligible to appear on various state ballots under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
The amendment, introduced after the Civil War, prohibits anyone from holding state or federal office if they took an oath to uphold the Constitution but then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in December that Trump is disqualified from appearing on the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballots under the measure.
The U.S. Supreme Court has since agreed to review the decision, which would settle the matter nationwide. It is scheduled to hear oral arguments Thursday.