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GOP lawmaker refuses to shake hand of officer who was beaten unconscious by Capitol rioters

17 June 2021
Dan Ackermann

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) on Wednesday refused to shake hands with D.C. police officer Michael Fanone, who suffered a heart attack and traumatic brain injury after he was assaulted while protecting the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, per the Washington Post.

Why it matters: Clyde is among the 21 Republicans who voted against awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to officers who defended the Capitol during the riot.

Driving the news: Fanone returned to the Capitol Wednesday looking to share his story with those members, and told the Post that he recognized Clyde in an elevator

  • Fanone said the Republican congressman refused to shake his hand even after he introduced himself as an officer who "fought to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6," and described being beaten until he was unconscious.
  • "His response was nothing,” Fanone said. “He turned away from me, pulled out his cellphone and started thumbing through the apps.”

The big picture: The Georgia Republican has tried to downplay the events of that day by likening the mob at the Capitol to tourists.

  • "There was no insurrection. To call it an insurrection is a bold-faced lie," Clyde said in May.

I just called Officer Fanone and confirmed this story. This is really incredible. Also relayed an interaction he had with another members Chief of Staff that was really incredibly bad and disrespectful. https://t.co/fERYjK6dWg

— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) June 16, 2021

What they're saying: “Every now and again I think we have to be at the bottom of how low we can get,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told the Post. "You don’t have to admit you should have voted for [the Gold Medal] by shaking a guy’s hand. The presence of these heroes can make some people uncomfortable.”

Go deeper: Cheney slams GOP Rep. Gosar for saying Capitol Police officer "executed" Capitol rioter

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.