With the return of tourists to the Capitol this month, Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell has been showing visitors all the special spots in the building: the old Supreme Court chamber, the site initially intended for George Washington’s tomb, little highlights beyond the Rotunda.
But as he recalls in a new opinion piece in The Washington Post, a recent tour made him stop and take a deep breath: “This is the tunnel you guys probably saw on TV, where I almost died fighting the mob.”
Gonell was one of the officers who fought back a riotous horde of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election, which then-President Trump lost to now-President Biden. Trump immediately began pushing baseless claims that the election was stolen, and on Jan. 6 urged his supporters to go to the Capitol to fight the results.
As the Capitol tours resume, Gonnell writes he’s reliving that day.
The former U.S Army soldier and Iraq War veteran opens the piece with what he calls a “bad joke” that he had posted on Twitter.
“Tourists trying to get into the Capitol,” he tweeted April 1, with a picture of the mob attempting to smash their way into the building, crushing officers. “April fools.”
“While all the visitors I’ve talked to seem respectful, I can’t help but wonder if any of them were part of the insurrection. Could they be coming back to relive their big moment and gloat over the chaos they caused? Do they look at me and think: That’s the Latino officer I shoved? I remain vigilant, keeping an eye out for anyone who seems to be bragging to their friends,” Gonell writes.
Gonell was one of the four officers who emotionally recounted their experiences from that day in public testimony during a July hearing before the House select committee investigating the attack.
Through tears, Gonell told the panel that he “vividly heard officers screaming in agony and pain” that day and heard rioters calling for the deaths of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and then-Vice President Mike Pence, who had a ceremonial role in certifying the election.
Trump and his allies had tried to pressure Pence to override the election results and declare his ticket mate the winner, even though he had no legal authority to do so.
In the article, Gonell expresses his “disappointment” in members of Congress who have characterized the violent insurrection as peaceful and a normal day at the Capitol.
“Those members are people I risked everything to defend,” he writes.
He notes that security has been tightened after the Capitol was largely closed to the public for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors now have to register in advance and the size of tour groups has been capped.
“Still, it’s hard not to be paranoid,” Gonnell writes. “I never thought such an attack would happen. Now I’m afraid it could happen again.”