Officer Attacked On Jan 6. Fears ‘Violence’ From Pardoned Offenders: ‘I Have A Target On My Back’

Former police officer Michael Fanone, who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots in 2021, said he “fully expects” to “experience violence” at the hands of some of the offenders released by President Donald Trump’s pardons.

In one of his first acts on day one of his return to office, Trump fulfilled on his campaign promises to issue a sweeping pardon of 1,500 individuals connected to the riots.

During the riot at the Capitol, law enforcement officers faced widespread violence from rioters attempting to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Officers were physically assaulted, sprayed with chemical irritants, and hit with blunt objects such as flagpoles, fire extinguishers, and batons. Some were crushed in doorways, dragged down stairs, and subjected to sustained beatings.

One of the most notable casualties was Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died the day after the riot following exposure to chemical spray. Several officers sustained serious injuries, including concussions, broken bones, and psychological trauma, with over 140 law enforcement personnel from both the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department reporting injuries. In the aftermath, several officers involved in defending the Capitol died by suicide.

Speaking with Morning Joe host Willie Geist on Wednesday, Fanone explained that he was going through the process of securing “protective orders” against some of those involved who he believed could do him or his family harm. During his interview, he named four individuals who had admitted to attacking him.

I’m going through the process. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be as easy as I had initially anticipated. That being said, listen, once these guys were pardoned… and let’s talk about the individuals that were pardoned… Daniel Rodriguez, sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after he pled guilty and admitted to using a taser device, applying it to the base of my skull numerous times while I was being restrained in a crowd and assaulted. Albuquerque Cosper Head from Tennessee, placed me in a headlock, pled guilty.

This is the rider that if you watch my body worn camera footage yelled out, ‘I’ve got one! As he dragged me out into the crowd.’ Thomas Sibick, who while I was restrained and being assaulted, ripped my badge and my radio from my police vest. Kyle Young, who again while I was being restrained and assaulted, tried to remove my firearm from its holster as he violently assaulted me.

These individuals pled guilty. They admitted that they assaulted a uniformed law enforcement officer who was simply doing his job, and Donald Trump chose to pardon these violent criminals. They are all out on the street today because of Donald Trump’s actions.

Fanone continued to recount the threats he had already experienced since appearing as a witness before the select congressional committee investigating the event.

My family is less safe. We have suffered threats and acts of violence almost immediately after my congressional testimony in the select committee hearing. In fact, I didn’t even make it through my testimony before I received the first threatening phone call. My mother has been the victim of swatting incidents. She has had bricks thrown at her home in the middle of the night. And recently, while she was raking the leaves in her front yard, she had an individual pull up in a truck and throw a bag of shit on her.

This is the type of conduct and behavior that we’ve experienced for four years, and quite frankly, law enforcement has been feckless in its attempts to protect us and prevent these types of crimes from occurring.

Rounding on Trump’s pardons, the former police officer said that he expected more threats and potentially “violence” to come his way as a result, saying that the Trump administration had put “a target on [his] back.”

Because of these pardons, my family is threatened and my family is less safe. I fully expect to experience a violence at the hands of some of these individuals, whether it’s the ones that directly assaulted me or others who see me as a spokesperson for accountability.

For January 6th, I certainly feel as though I have a target on my back and there’s a target on the back of my family members, and not just from these violent criminals, but from the government itself, from Donald Trump’s government.

Watch above via MSNBC.