Jun 5, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Ex-D.C. cop: "Most of the people in this country are indifferent" to Jan. 6 riot

Michael Fanone testifies before the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on July 27, 2021, at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. Photo: Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images

A former Washington D.C. metropolitan police officer who was injured during the Jan. 6 riot said on Sunday that he believes most Americans are "indifferent toward what happened on Jan. 6."

The big picture: The Jan. 6 committee is gearing up to make its case to the public with a series of televised hearings beginning on Thursday.

Driving the news: Michael Fanone, who suffered a minor heart attack and a traumatic brain injury after he was dragged into a mob, beaten and tased during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, said on CNN that he doesn't think the public hearings will have much of an impact.

  • "Unfortunately, I don't believe that it's going to move the needle," said Fanone, who now serves as a law enforcement analyst for CNN. "I think most of the people in this country are indifferent toward what happened on Jan. 6, and everyone else is pretty well encamped in their side of the political aisle."
  • Fanone said he thinks people are indifferent because of "where it happened and the fact that it involved a political rally," adding "I think people are just tired of politics in Washington, D.C."

However, he said he's interested to see what the Jan. 6th committee has found about the period leading up to and after the riot.

  • "I was there. I lived that experience, so I'm acutely aware of what took place that day," Fanone said. "I'm interested to see what they've come up with as far as the days and weeks leading up to Jan. 6, as well as the aftermath."
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