Former D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone told CNN Sunday he plans to attend the House Jan. 6 committee’s hearings after being promised a “front row seat.”
Fanone, who was beaten by Donald Trump supporters and electroshocked with a stun gun during the Capitol riots in 2021, told CNN anchor Jim Acosta he plans on “watching as many of the hearings as I can.”
“As far as my expectations for the hearings, I mean I was there, I lived that experience, so I’m acutely aware of what took place that day,” Fanone said of the Jan. 6 riots.
“I’m interested to see what [the committee has] come up with as far as the days and weeks leading up to Jan. 6, as well as the aftermath, but unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to move the needle,” he added, saying he believes most Americans are “indifferent” to what took place on Jan. 6.
Fanone said some may be apathetic about what happened that day because of “where it happened” and “the fact that it involved a political rally.”
“I think people are tired of politics in Washington, D.C.,” Fanone explained. “I mean, for me, it’s deeply personal. I was there, I experienced it and almost lost my life, but for most Americans, they’re worried about raising their families, making a living, sending their kids to school, things like that.”
Since the riots, Fanone has made multiple media appearances while calling out various GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), who said “there was no insurrection” during a House Oversight Committee hearing in May 2021. Fanone, along with U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, Sgt. Aquilino Gonell and Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges, testified in front of the House committee in July 2021 about their experiences during the riots.
The 20-year police veteran resigned from the force in December 2021 after experiencing tension with colleagues and physical and emotional ailments from the riots, according to The Washington Post.
“Clearly there are some members of our department who feel their oath is to Donald Trump and not to the Constitution,” Fanone told the publication. “I no longer felt like I could trust my fellow officers and decided it was time to make a change.”
The first Jan. 6 committee hearing will air on Thursday and feature “previously unseen material” surrounding “the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power,” the committee announced.