HARRISBURG, Pa. — A visit to the Pennsylvania House floor by two former police officers who helped protect the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot drew boos and walkouts from some Republican lawmakers this week.
Witnesses said former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and his ex-boss, former Sgt. Aquilino Gonell caused a decidedly negative reaction from some Republicans, with one even shouting that they were cowards.
House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, who welcomed Gonell and Dunn, called the Republican Party’s response to the former officers disrespectful. She said in a statement that many Republican members walked off the floor, turned their backs and booed.
“The shameful behavior of the Republican members was out of character for any guest, let alone two of the men responsible for defending our democracy during a dark day in our country’s history,” he said. McClinton. “Republicans’ lack of respect, patriotism and even common decency epitomizes the bad behavior that so many in the MAGA movement have adopted.”
In a text message on Thursday, Dunn said he heard a commotion but couldn’t make out what was being said. He thanked Republican Minority Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County for taking a photo with them.
Dunn said he was “honored to be recognized.” The two had appeared on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol a few hours earlier Wednesday at an event coordinated by President Joe Biden’s campaign.
Video of the scene in the conference room as business was wrapping up this week showed several Republican members and staffers, including Cutler, applauding the officers. Cutler later noted that House Democrats sent a fundraising email immediately afterward.
“The truth is, I support law enforcement. I talked to the gentlemen about the work they did,” Cutler told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “And I think if you look at it, I’m tired of the Speaker of the House of Representatives using the guest list and the legislative calendar for political purposes.”
The request from the House Democratic Campaign Committee said: “House Republicans couldn’t leave the floor in protest fast enough” and asked for contributions “to help us defend our democracy” and preserve their majority in the House.
At the Biden campaign event earlier on the Capitol steps, Dunn and Gonell were flanked by more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers. The two warned at the appearance that they see former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as a danger to democracy.
“Donald Trump is the greatest threat to our democracy and the safety of communities across the country today,” Dunn told reporters. “He has encouraged and continues to encourage political violence. … His deranged, self-centered, obsessive quest for power is the reason violent insurgents have attacked me and my courageous colleagues.”
Hundreds of law enforcement officers were beaten and bloodied during the attack by Trump supporters, who descended on a rally and stormed the Capitol as Trump remained silent for hours.
Gonell said the attackers attacked him repeatedly. He told how he was punched, punched, kicked and hit in the head with his own baton. Someone tried to drag him into the crowd and hit him with an American flag still attached to a flagpole, he said. Gonell said his injuries required two surgeries.
“Donald Trump called the people who injured me and attacked our Capitol as hostages, patriots and political prisoners. If those people are those things, then who are we?” Gonnell said, adding that the officers on Jan. 6 defended elected officials from both parties “regardless of their political ideology.”
Dunn, who is Black, has previously described how the mob at the Capitol shouted racial slurs at him, something that never happened during his more than 12 years on the force.
Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, said he witnessed the reaction from his Republican colleagues on Wednesday and heard one member referencing Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by police during the riot at the U.S. Capitol and killed.
He said he saw two Republican members walk away and other Democrats reported as many as 10 Republican House members did so. It was a striking contrast to the solemn respect normally greeted by soldiers and police officers when they are recognized in the House of Representatives, he said.
The cheering heard on video of House activity was a Democratic attempt to make the cheering louder, Schlossberg said.
“It was despicable and a disgrace,” he said. “This is the party that supposedly cherishes public order.”