This Capitol Police officer has no regrets about Jan. 6

How race and identity are shaping politics, policy and power.

Oct 27, 2023 View in browser   By Catherine Kim With help from Ella Creamer, Rishika Dugyala, Jesse Naranjo and Teresa Wiltz POLITICO illustration/Photo by Getty Images Hello, Recasters! The U.S. strikes Iranian-backed ammunition sites in Syria, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) pushes to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) over her Israel comments and the search continues for the gunman who allegedly killed at least 18 people in Lewiston, Maine. Today, we’re digging into what really happened on Jan. 6.  Aquilino Gonell, who moved to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic at the age of 12, believed he’d live the American dream if he put his head down and worked hard as a student, a U.S. Army veteran and a policeman — a myth passed on to many other immigrants of his generation. Then the Jan. 6 insurrection happened nearly three decades later — leaving Gonell’s career as a Capitol Police officer and his belief in the American system in tatters. Staying silent was no longer an option, not when he believed Republican leaders were trying to mischaracterize the insurrection as a peaceful protest. Gonell decided he’d speak up, first in front of a camera, and later to the House Jan. 6 committee. “As an immigrant, I took seriously my pledge to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States against foreign and domestic threats. Even if that threat was the president, the police, and the members of Congress who abetted him,” he writes in his memoir “American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy,” which publishes Nov. 7. (A Spanish version titled “Escudo Americano” will publish the following month.) Speaking up has come at a price: Trump loyalists such as Julie Kelly, a political commentator, have vilified police officers like Gonell who testified at the congressional Capitol riot hearing, calling them “crisis actors.”   Was The Recast forwarded to you by a friend? Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter here. Every week, we interview influential characters shaking up politics. Let us know whom we should profile next. Email therecast@politico.com.   When discussing the aftermath of the congressional hearings, Gonell, who left the force due to career-ending injuries suffered that day, talks about the pride he feels for taking a stand — no matter the consequences — and gratitude for those who’ve stood by his side as he recovers. There’s also a profound sense of frustration that continues to this day: frustration toward Donald Trump, who remains the most influential person in the GOP; frustration toward Republican lawmakers who just elected an election denier as the House speaker; and frustration toward voters who have propelled Trump to the front of the Republican presidential candidate field. “There’s no shame,” Gonell tells The Recast. “There’s no sense of ‘Wow, what was I thinking,’ because [Donald Trump] has become their personality.” ◆◆◆ This interview has been edited for length and clarity. THE RECAST: In your book, you bring a unique perspective to the Jan. 6 insurrection not only as a Capitol officer who was on the ground, but also as an immigrant and a man of color. What was that like? GONELL: A lot of people don't know the sacrifices that a lot of us immigrants do here, and if you look at the people who were attacking the Capitol, it is a sorry contrast. On one hand, it’s very ironic [that] the people who were supposed to be defending the country were the ones attacking and the roles were reversed. A lot of the officers defending the Capitol were foreigners. So it kind of gives you a state of mind where things are, how backward or upside down things are in this country, because many of those people who attacked the Capitol saw allegiance to a person, rather than the country. Gonell testifies before the Jan. 6 select committee July 27, 2021, on Capitol Hill. | Pool photo by Andrew Harnik THE RECAST: Now that you’ve had some time to heal and reflect on Jan. 6, what is it like now to look at the Capitol? What’s changed? GONELL: It brings a lot of emotions because even though they have made improvements, there's a lot of space for further improvement in terms of security, and the political figures from one party downplay things. Many of them know what was happening on Jan. 6, or leading to Jan. 6, and yet they continue to remain silent [in fear of] political loss, and I'm sure if this was done by any other group, any other supporters, they would want people to be held accountable. And if I were one of those people who said Antifa, Black Lives Matter or all these other groups [conservatives] demonize were the ones committing those crimes, I'm sure I'll be paraded and be held like a hero on their side. But they don't. Instead, they call us liars and political hacks or actors. You know, this is how far that party has gone down. I'm just happy that Kevin McCarthy is no longer the speaker because he also is a material witness to what happened on Jan. 6. On Jan. 6, I think he went to the House floor and gave a speech and he put the blame squarely where it needed to be put. But a week later, he flew down to Mar-a-Lago and instead of doing something with the position of power that he had, to investigate, to do something proper, and show that he does support the police, what he did instead of funding a good, honest investigation, he sent us — the Capitol Police — Chick-fil-A sandwiches. The kind of support that we want was an honest investigation, a nonpartisan investigation to the events on Jan. 6. So there goes the irony right there. THE RECAST: In many ways, you probably understand Trump supporters better than anyone else who wasn't at the Capitol on Jan. 6. What do you think is the enduring appeal of Trump? How is he still so popular? GONELL: I mean it is insane. They prophesize and continue to tell people, “We are in the party of law and order,” and yet every single time [Trump] has shown that he is incapable of doing what needs to be done in the country, a lot of those people go along with what he says. They continue to make excuses after excuses after excuses that he’s going to change or that you have to entertain his ideas. The way I see it is like an addicted gambler. They have to continue to put in money because they think they're going to make their money back. And they’re not going to make their money back. THE RECAST: Trump is obviously known for saying very controversial things, some of it about immigrants, like yourself, and I'm curious what it was like putting up your life for a country that was under his presidency? GONELL: It was difficult. Most of the time, the Republican Party is saying, “Well, in order for us to support immigration, we have to weed out these people — these are the type of people we want: somebody who comes to this country to work, somebody who comes to this country legally, somebody who comes to assimilate, get educated, be productive, join the military, become a police officer.” Gonell, other prominent defenders of the Capitol on Jan. 6 and actor Sean Penn, center, listen during a June 23, 2022, hearing of the Jan. 6 select committee. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP I checked every single box of whatever the typical immigrant that they want in this country needs to be and had gone overseas to defend this country and on Jan. 6. So you have every single box checked and yet, I'm lost because of what I had done. I had spoken the truth and maintained my credibility and [now] they don’t like me and they don't want me and they don't see me as a role model. This is incomprehensible to me, because maybe I'm not from Europe and white. But I had done what was required of me. I kept my oath. I have devoted almost half of my life fighting for this country. And yet we have many on the right that attacked me for what I had done, not knowing that I had done for this country more than what they and their offspring will ever do for this country. THE RECAST: What does it mean to be American to you? GONELL: If you are in a position of power to hold the oath, keep your own oath. Don’t keep your oath only when it's convenient for you. You have to be able to do the hard things, even when there’s no political advantage to you, or when it's convenient, or when it’s popular. It means doing the right thing, regardless of whether it's popular or not, and helping people because even when I was being attacked, even though in the whole chaos, I tried to help the rioters and stuff. And whether you call me an actor or a hero, my actions remain the same. ◆◆◆ This week has brought another crazy news cycle, so we are very happy that it’s Friyay. We’re sending you off for the weekend with our reading, listening and watching recommendations. Georgia this week became the latest Southern state to have its congressional map struck down for discriminating against Black voters, in violation of the Voting Rights Act. POLITICO’s Zach Montellaro has the details. In his latest effort to address the surge of migrants arriving in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams is trying a new approach: offering them a free, one-way plane ticket to the destination of their choice, POLITICO’s Emily Ngo reports. In POLITICO Tech this week, podcast host Steven Overly talks to NAACP President Derrick Johnson about AI’s potential to cause “massive disruptions in everyday life.” “It could further concentrate wealth in one community and not allow opportunities in other communities,” he says. Listen here. Ziwe’s debut collection of essays on pop culture and identity, “Black Friend,” is both incisive and hilarious. Netflix’s “Yellow Door: ’90s Lo-Fi Film Club” is a documentary looking back on a group of South Korean cinephiles, including “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho. Rema drops a new EP, “Ravage,” featuring five Afrobeats bangers. “On this project, I connect with my inner flame, my inner rage. It’s like an outburst on the inside of me that I’ve held in for too long,” says the artist. “In My Mother’s Skin”, out on Prime, is a folk horror film set in the Philippines during World War II, starring Beauty Gonzalez and Jasmine Curtis-Smith. beabadoobee and Laufey collab on “A Night To Remember,” a smooth jazz track with a romantic partner dance video set against twinkling city lights at night. TikTok of the Day: Smart thinking   Follow us on Twitter Brakkton Booker @brakktonbooker Rishika Dugyala @rishikadugyala Teresa Wiltz @teresawiltz Jesse Naranjo @jesselnaranjo   Follow us

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