Fanone says he feels like he has target on his back from Trump government
Michael Fanone, a former Washington, D.C. police officer who was attacked during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, said he feels like he has a target on his back under President Trump, after he pardoned hundreds of convicted rioters.
“I certainly feel as though I have a target on my back and … there’s a target on the back of my family members, and not just from these violent criminals, but from the government itself, from Donald Trump’s government,” Fanone said Wednesday on MSNBC.
Fanone has been an outspoken critic of Trump and those who stormed the Capitol four years ago. On that day, he was beaten and tased by Trump supporters, suffering a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury.
He was among several law enforcement members who testified before the House select committee that investigated the attack.
Fanone was also among those who received preemptive pardons from former President Biden before he left office.
One of Trump’s first official acts upon returning to the White House was handing out pardons to nearly all of the Jan. 6 rioters. Fanone called it a betrayal.
Fanone said he fully expects “to experience violence” at the hands of some individuals pardoned by Trump, “whether it’s the ones that directly assaulted me or others who see me as a spokesperson for accountability for January 6.”
Last year, Fanone shared the news that his parents were swatted at their respective homes just hours after he called Trump an “authoritarian.” He called the situation “incredibly f---ing dangerous” for his elderly parents.