'People died': Officer who defended Capitol reacts to GOP lawmaker's 'disgusting' comments [View all]

Source: Raw Story

May 23, 2026 5:48PM ET


Former Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who was famously crushed in a doorway while defending the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, responded with disgust this week to a Republican congressman's claim that the deadly riot was "staged."

Hodges appeared on MS NOW to discuss the Trump-created $1.8 billion slush fund that could compensate January 6 defendants. Asked about a Republican congressman's recent on-camera dismissal of the entire riot as a manufactured event, Hodges did not hold back. "Yeah, that is disgusting," Hodges said. "People died, you know, police officers died. They died in the aftermath, died from suicide, rioters, insurrectionists died."

The congressman's comments, played for Hodges during the interview, included the claim that "January 6th is an issue that was made up in the first place" and that "it was a self-made riot. By members who hate Trump." When the reporter pointed out that Republican members of Congress ran for their lives during the attack, the congressman responded only with vague references to police officers "letting people in the building."

Hodges rejected that framing. "The fear that congressmen, congresswomen and their staff were feeling were real," he said. "The fear that officers were feeling were real. None of that was staged. I don't know why he would say that."

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/jan-6-2676935598/