Former Capitol Police sergeant rips Trump over Jan. 6 pardons pledge

Former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell in a new op-ed criticizes President-elect Trump over his pledge to pardon supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, calling it "devastating."

In the New York Times op-ed released Sunday, a day before the fourth anniversary of the attack, Gonell relived his day inside the halls of Congress attempting to keep lawmakers safe as a mob entered looking to stop the certification of the 2020 election results.

He detailed the beating he suffered, noting he thought he would die and “never make it home to see my wife and young son.”

“Over the last four years, it’s been devastating to me to hear Donald Trump repeat his promise to pardon insurrectionists on the first day he’s back in office,” Gonell wrote.

As Trump prepares to return to the White House for a second term, he’s stated one of the first things he would do back in office is pardon Jan. 6 defendants.

Gonell wrote that he sustained long-lasting injuries that required multiple surgeries and years of rehab for post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet in the op-ed, he calls himself one of the lucky responding officers.

“Although I left the Capitol Police force, I remain haunted by that day,” he wrote. “Now Mr. Trump’s promised actions could erase the justice we’ve risked everything for.”

He later added that he wonders why he risked his life for elected officials inspired by Trump “only to see him return to power stronger than ever.”

Gonell, who's become an outspoken Trump critic and testified in court, also noted his fear of retribution from the new administration.

Ahead of the anniversary, Gonell also told MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart that it would be an “outrage” and a “desecration” to the sacrifice of those who died serving that day if Trump pardoned rioters.

Gonell noted on air that he’s applied for benefits for the trauma and financial burden he’s experienced since leaving his job that have yet to be approved.

He said he didn’t think four years ago that he would be on air in 2025 telling his story ahead of another Trump presidency.

Gonell in the op-ed called on Trump to let the Jan. 6 rioters’ convictions stand, saying it would help heal a divided nation.

“Those people, they attack us, the police officers. They are not warriors. They are not the victims,” Gonell said on MSNBC. “They chose to commit a crime because they were so gullible enough to believe the lies of Donald Trump without any evidence.”

“We were doing our job,” he continued. “We were keeping our oath. Not them.”