Yahoo News Police officer Michael Fanone receives sinister threatening call on back of explosive January 6 commission testimony
Metropolitan police officer Michael Fanone, who was severely beaten during the 6 January riot, has revealed a threatening voicemail he received following his testimony in front of the Capitol riot commission.
Mr Fanone, who was among the first to testify on Tuesday, told CNN host Don Lemon he was the target of a violent message after telling lawmakers how he feared for his life during the riot.
He told the host that an alleged fan of former US president Donald Trump messaged him as he was telling members of Congress about his ordeal on the front line, when he was severely beaten and suffered a heart attack.
The rioters allegedly stopped assaulting Mr Fanone after he told them he had children, he told lawmakers on Tuesday, that was after being “grabbed, beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country”.
“We think people need to hear the kind of attacks these officers are facing right now just for telling the truth about January 6”, Mr Lemon said before playing the voicemail, which was not censored. He also warned viewers that it was “incredibly offensive”.
“You want an Emmy? An Oscar? What are you trying to go for here?,” the caller could be heard telling Mr Fanone, who was told that he himself was “on trial right now” and was “so full of sh**”. It also included half a dozen homophobic and racist slurs, and wild accusations.
“You’re a punk f****t. You’re a lying f**k. How about all that scummy Black f**** scum for two years destroying our cities and burning ’em and stealing all that sh** out of the stores and everything,” the voicemail went on, in apparent reference to anti-racism protests last year — which were unrelated to the events of 6 January.
“How about that? Assaulting cops and killing people? How about that, you f***r?“
The caller continued by telling Mr Fanone he wished the Capitol rioters “killed all you scumbags”, after a police officer already died that day, and hundreds more were injured.
“That was s**t on the goddamn Capitol. I wish they woulda killed all you scumbags ’cause you people are scum,” said the voicemail. “They stole the election from Trump and you know that, you scumbag. And f**kin’ too bad they didn’t beat the s**t out of you more. You’re a piece of s***. You’re a little f**, you f****** scumbag.”
After CNN played the clip, Mr Fanone told Mr Lemon: “I mean, unfortunately I’ve come to expect this type of response.”
“It’s not the first time that people have expressed similar opinions to me. Unfortunately… there is an element in this country that believes that.”
Mr Fanone and other officers who testified on Tuesday told the committee they felt betrayed by Republicans who have dismissed or tried to rewrite the events of 6 January, and that “too many are now telling me that hell doesn’t exist or that hell actually wasn’t that bad.”
The hearing continues.
Read More
Lincoln Project’s new ad contrasts Republican donors with footage of Capitol riot
‘You guys won, you guys held,’ Kinzinger tearfully tells Capitol police in riot committee hearing
Susan Sarandon leads protest against AOC and the Squad: ‘We are losing hope that you represent us’
Former US senator mugged on street hits out at Trump for claiming defunding police led to crime
Fact checkers debunk Biden ‘butt’ clip sent viral by conservatives
