"This whole year has been horrific."

[kpete]

As the Jan. 6 attack anniversary nears, one Capitol officer fears a violent repeat- Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell

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"They see me cry. They cry with me. They see me in pain. And they also cry because they can't do anything for me other than try to make me feel a little bit better," Gonell told NPR this week. "This whole year has been horrific."

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"Every time that those metal rods hit the ground, it triggered me," Gonell said. "It brought me back to Jan. 6. That particular sound was something I was hearing when they were breaking the barriers to use as projectiles to hit us."

He said it's also tough to run into the members of Congress who voted not to certify President Biden's election and who continue to cling to the lie that ex-President Trump won.

"We risked our lives to give [members of Congress] enough time to get to safety. And allegedly, some of them were in communication with some of the rioters and with some of the coordinators or in the know of what would happen And it makes you question their motives and their loyalty for the country, as we were battling the mob in a brutal battle where I could have lost my life and my dear fellow officers, as well."

https://www.npr.org/2021/12/30/1068601539/as-the-jan-6-attack-anniversary-nears-one-capitol-officer-fears-a-violent-repeat