Officer Injured During Jan. 6 Calls Out Todd Blanche’s Hypocrisy After Trump Rally Comments

Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Aquilino Gonell called out the hypocrisy of Attorney General Todd Blanche’s comments during a rally for President Donald Trump on Friday.

“In my Department of Justice, if anybody touches a federal law enforcement officer in any way inappropriate, we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” Blanche said to a crowd of law enforcement officers in Long Island, New York.

Gonell quickly hit back at Blanche on social media, posting pictures of injuries he sustained during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

“Your president pardoned people who did this to me and like you, he wants to make the lives whole or better than before January 6 while not giving a shit about officers,” Gonell said in the post along with the pictures.

Gonell is one of more than 140 officers who were injured during the attack, including U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who later died after suffering two strokes.

Four officers who responded to the attack later died by suicide.

Trump, on his first day back in office, granted blanket pardons to the nearly 1,600 individuals criminally convicted or charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol.

Officers who were at the Capitol during the attack widely condemned Trump’s actions.

“The Republican Party has long claimed to be the party of law and order; however, many lawmakers’ silence and refusal to push back against Donald Trump’s actions make it incredibly hard to take that claim seriously,” former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn said following the pardons.

“Donald Trump, everything he is, everything he stands for, is anathema to me, but he is the President of the United States and he’s going to leverage that power in terrible ways and one of the first ways he chose to do that was to Pardon everyone from January 6th. He tried to stop the transfer of power and usurp the will of the people,” former Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges said.

If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.