Capitol Police officer Aquilino Gonell has repeatedly testified under oath and in federal court that he suffered near-death injuries on January 6. New security video contradicts his claims.
by Julie Kelly, Declassified.live, July 25, 2023
For nearly two years, Capitol police officer Aquilino Gonell was off the job or on partial duty, insisting the severe physical and mental injuries he sustained on January 6, 2021 prevented him from doing his job as a federal law enforcement officer.
In news interviews and on social media, Gonell has told his sob story about how violent rioters inflicted debilitating foot, shoulder, and head injuries that day. He routinely posts images of those alleged injuries, including several photos of a foot with stitches and surgical tape and pictures of his ongoing shoulder therapy.
A regular at the D.C. federal courthouse, which is the site of every January 6-related trial and hearing, Gonell—who is occasionally a government witness—said in a victim impact statement filed in May that he was “bleeding from both hands, [had] a maimed foot, hit on the head, sprayed with pepper and bear spray, beaten, punched, pushed, pulled, and assaulted by many other rioters” on the afternoon of January 6.
Click Here to Watch the Newest We the People Convention News & Opinion Podcast!
But new video published by reporter Joe Hanneman at The Epoch Times this week contradicts Gonell’s claims. For more than seven minutes, Gonell, highlighted in the video below, is seen moving and walking with no sign of pain. (This segment begins at roughly 4:50 p.m. after confrontations with police and protested had ended.)
Both shoulders appear to have full mobility; he is seen at one point kicking a medical kit and walking around without any indication either foot is injured. His hands look unscathed.
WATCH:
Hanneman posted the footage captured by Capitol security cameras that shows desperate and futile attempts by first responders to resuscitate Rosanne Boyland, a Trump supporter from Georgia, who died after being hit in the chest with a pepper bar deployed by police inside a packed tunnel on the west side of the building, according to a witness. A D.C. Metro police officer is also seen on separate video striking Boyland at least twice as she laid motionless on the ground before paramedics could get to her.
Gonell told the January 6 Select Committee under oath in July 2021 that he attempted to save Boyland. “[At] 4:26 p.m., after giving CPR to one of the rioters who breached the Capitol in an effort to save her life, that I finally had a chance to let my own family know I was alive.” Gonell apparently is referring to Boyland, however, there is no video evidence to support his claim, either. In fact, it was around that time where Boyland remained on the ground outside of the lower west terrace tunnel as D.C. Metro Police officer Lila Morris hit her with a baton.
One month after Republicans won control of the House of Representatives and promised numerous investigations including into the events of January 6, Gonell announced his resignation. “It is with immense sadness that I announce my formal separation from the Department effective December 17, 2022 to continue to focus on healing, both physically and mentally, from injuries I sustained in the line of duty on January 6, 2021. After speaking with my orthopedic doctor, my mental health providers, and my family, I think it’s in my best interest to take time off away from the daily reminders that keep re-triggering my trauma. Although my goal has been to return to full and unrestricted duty, my medical conditions are permanent. Having to return to the scene of the crime almost every day has become taxing, unbearable and not conducive to healing.”
Editors Note: This is another example of why we need FULL PUBLIC ACCESS to ALL the January 6th Video. They are covering up what REALLY happened on January 6th! The video would EXONORATE many Jan 6th Patriots and EXPOSE many Feds and Capitol Police for their illegal acts. This Despicable Officer must be charged with Perjury and lose his pension!
Gonell told CNNs Jake Tapper that leaving the force wasn’t his choice. “They did that to me, the mob, and the people who continue to support the former president,” Gonell said to Tapper in a December 15, 2022 interview. He again claimed that he could no longer do his job effectively due to “range of motion” issues with his shoulder.
The U.S. Capitol Police is a federally-funded law enforcement agency.
Gonell’s book, “American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy,” will be available in November.
