Former Metropolitan Police Department officer Mike Fanone coughed “go f**k yourself” during a Thursday hearing where former special counsel Jack Smith testified.
Smith appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for roughly five hours and defended his prosecutions of President Donald Trump. During questioning, Republican Texas Rep. Troy Nehls blamed U.S. Capitol Police leadership for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, prompting Fanone’s outburst.
“I would like to quickly address the police officers of January 6th — Mr. [Harry] Dunn, Mr. Fanone, Mr. [Aquilino] Gonell, Mr. [Daniel] Hodges, I’m a member of the new select committee to actually examine what happened that day,” Nehls said. “And I can tell you, gentlemen, that the fault does not lie with Donald Trump. It lies with Yogananda Pittman and the U.S. Capitol leadership team.”
Fanone then interrupted to cough, “go f**k yourself.”
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“We know the Capitol leadership team, specifically Yogananda Pittman, had the intelligence, and there was going to be a high propensity for violence,” Nehls added after the disruption.
Pittman was assistant chief of U.S. Capitol Police at the time of the riot. She previously acknowledged that by Jan. 4, 2021, the Capitol Police were aware of “a strong potential for violence and that Congress was the target.”
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Fanone has also made appearances on CNN and MSNBC denouncing Trump for the riot.
Moreover, Fanone said on the “Lincoln Square” podcast on Jan. 8 that Americans should consider taking up arms against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after an agent fatally shot Renee Good on Jan. 7.
“I don’t need to hear from the chief of police that we all need to remain calm and protest peacefully. Fuck you and fuck that,” he said. “What are you doing to keep me safe? What are you doing to keep my mother safe, my sister safe, my community safe from these thugs? That’s what I need to hear coming out of these agents or these officers.”
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“Because if you’re not going to do it, then it’s time for the American people to organize and to utilize their Second Amendment right to protect themselves from what has clearly become an unaccountable and lawless agency that’s killing Americans,” he added.
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