When I received my acceptance letter to the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., about a decade ago, my mind raced with the dramatic, life-or-death situations I would face on a daily basis in order to protect and serve the inhabitants of our nation’s capital.
But, even as I considered such situations, I never envisioned what I witnessed on January 6, 2021, or that I would be one of a few dozen officers standing between former President Donald Trump’s authoritarian fantasies and American democracy. Trump led a crowd that carried out the attack on the Capitol, posing an existential threat to both my city and the country.
The world watched in horror as thousands of Trump supporters overran police barricades, stripped cops of their equipment, and brutally attacked them. They looked us in the eye and accused us of being traitors because we were protecting the Capitol.
The violent mob eventually gained access to the Capitol and roamed its storied halls with weapons and zip ties, clearly looking for members of Congress to kidnap, torture, or kill, while our elected representatives and their staffs fled or hid in place, barricading their office doors and praying for safety from the fires of insurgency that some of them helped (and continue to help) spread.
As my colleagues and I recovered from our injuries, I was consumed by a desire to know what happened that day and to hold those who incited the revolt accountable for their acts.
I promised myself I’d speak up about what happened on January 6, and I kept my word. I was pleased to testify before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, detailing the horrors I witnessed and setting the tone for the committee’s inquiry to come.
In August 2022, I presented witness evidence and body camera footage in a civil trial brought by three New Mexico individuals seeking to remove Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, the creator of Cowboys for Trump, from office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I observed as he excitedly described his participation in the insurgency, joining a mob of rioters chanting “Heave! Ho!” as they attempted to infiltrate the tunnel into the Capitol building. These were the same rioters that crushed me with my police shield and tore off my helmet and gas mask. My testimony assisted Judge Francis Mathew in concluding that Jan. 6 constituted an insurrection, thereby removing Griffin from office. The Supreme Court has just upheld this ruling.
Last year, a group of Republican and unaffiliated voters in Colorado brought an action to remove Trump from the ballot under Section 3, citing his role in inciting the rebellion. To me, it was evident that Trump had assembled and directed a violent crowd to disrupt the peaceful transition of power.
Every time I spoke about my experience on Jan. 6, I kept to the horrible details of that day in order to keep my words and intentions from being distorted into something other than what they were: an attempt to hold insurrectionists like Donald Trump accountable. I talked about the organized nature of the mob, their readiness for violence, and their unwavering loyalty to Trump. They robbed me while wearing tactical gear. They attempted to gouge out my eye, bash my head with my own baton, and crush me against the Capitol itself.
I defended the Capitol with blood streaming from my mouth until I couldn’t anymore. It was apparent that the mob recruited and directed by Trump attempted to disrupt the peaceful transition of power.
In Colorado, Trump’s attorneys cross-examined me, but they never mentioned the violence I described. Instead, they attempted to discredit my testimony, despite the fact that my body camera evidence proved otherwise. Notably, Trump’s lawyers did not even attempt to defend his insurrectionist activities. There was no doubt about who started the violence or who had the absolute capacity to put an end to it: Donald Trump.
Trump was given due process at every stage, including numerous opportunities to plead his case. Nonetheless, neither his own counsel nor any court at the district, state, or federal levels has denied that Trump engaged in insurrection against the United States. The Supreme Court did not clear Trump of his involvement in the rebellion, nor did it overturn the ruling that he is an insurrectionist.
Neither the unfairness and hatred I feel from that day nor the threats I continue to get will ever prevent me from informing those who need to know what happened on January 6: For the first time in American history, a sitting president attempted to undermine the will of the people. The events of January 6, 2021, shattered the foundations of the American democratic heritage. We can no longer believe that “American exceptionalism” protects us from the violent coups that have occurred in other countries throughout history.
To some, I am “just a cop,” but I don’t need to be a constitutional lawyer to understand this: If someone has already attempted to undermine a free and fair election, we should not let him do so again.
