2024-01-06 15:00:00
When Aquilino Gonell appears on videoconference from his home in Virginia, the wall behind him commands attention. A constellation of medals and badges hangs there. History to recall the service records of this former police officer and soldier holding the rank of sergeant.
Among these distinctions is a medal given to him, last year, by President Joe Biden for having defended the Capitol on January 6, 2021 once morest a crowd of unleashed Trumpist supporters, determined to interrupt the process of validating the results of the presidential election and the peaceful transfer of power, the cornerstone of any democracy. “I have always acted during my career for the defense of this country once morest enemies domestic and foreign, not for medals. January 6 was no exception,” Aquilino Gonell hastens to point out.
Trump’s name will forever be associated with the degrading images broadcast around the world.
A pitched battle in a tunnel
Three years ago, he and his Capitol Police colleagues tried to repel attackers from a narrow tunnel traditionally used by presidents-elect before their inauguration ceremonies. He estimates that around forty insurgents attacked him, injuring him in the hand, shoulder and foot.
Clashes between supporters of US President Donald Trump and the police in front of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington. ©AFP/Archives
He also suffers from invisible wounds, “psychological and moral” as he says, inflicted subsequently: the declarations of Donald Trump and Republican parliamentarians, who minimized the seriousness of these events, peddling the idea that January 6 was just a simple demonstration gone wrong. The former president himself recently did not hesitate to describe as “hostages” the individuals who are imprisoned because of their participation in the attack.
And, to the great dismay of the former protector of the Capitol, this message is effective. A recent survey of the Washington Post and the University of Maryland thus highlighted that the share of Republican voters who consider that the demonstrators were “mostly violent” and that Donald Trump has a large share of responsibility for the incident has decreased compared to 2021.
More afraid than during the war in Iraq
Even within the Gonell family, some bought into the conspiracy theories surrounding the assault, daring to suggest to their wounded loved ones that anti-fascist activists disguised as Trumpist supporters were behind it. “I regret that there are not more people who appreciate the violence of that day and how close we came to losing our democracy,” he reacts.
The disappointment is all the greater as the ex-soldier devoted his life to the defense of the United States, a country that is not his. Born in the Dominican Republic, he might barely speak English when he arrived on American soil in the 1990s. As a teenager, he joined the army to escape family tensions and financial difficulties – in the United States, the Recruits benefit from having their tuition fees covered.
Following September 11, he was sent to Iraq as a reservist, before being hired by the Capitol Police. This force of more than 2,000 agents is responsible for protecting members of Congress. A position that allows this immigrant from a modest background to rub shoulders with the powerful of the planet. “I was very proud of it at the time. It’s a historic building where decisions are made that affect the whole world,” he explains.
But on the followingnoon of January 6, 2021, Aquilino Gonell and his teams were overwhelmed due to lack of personnel. He would later testify that he was “more afraid” that day than at “any time during my time in Iraq”. Ten people died during or following these events, including four police officers who committed suicide.
In July 2022, during a ceremony at the Capitol, Aquilino Gonell honored Hershel Woodrow “Woody” Williams, the last Medal of Honor recipient of World War II, who died at the age of 98. ©CQ-Roll Call
”Voters must ask themselves the question…”
The events of that day of violence marked him for the rest of his life. Suffering from post-traumatic stress, he is still being monitored psychologically and has given up working in Congress, a forced choice synonymous with loss of income. “It is impossible to continue to defend the same people who minimized the actions of the rioters. It affected my mental health,” he explains.
Is he worried regarding a possible return of Donald Trump to power? Despite 91 charges in various cases, the ex-president is the big favorite in his party’s primaries. “He doesn’t even try to hide what he intends to do if he is re-elected. He wants to make those who pursued him pay, he observes. Voters need to ask themselves: Will they be better served by a dictator or by someone who actually seeks to help them? ”.
There is no official record of his numerous phone calls that day.
While waiting for the moment of choice, Sergeant Gonell can only tell his truth. He does so in his new book, American Shield, and… in court by testifying at the trials of the insurgents. Of some 1,240 people arrested, more than 350 are still awaiting trial. “Thanks to everything I have done in my career, I have entered the middle class. I have a house, a car, a family. But I almost lost everything on January 6.”
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