On January 6, 2021, a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, resulting in injuries to 140 police officers who were tasked with protecting the building. Five years later, many of those officers, including Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges, continue to grapple with the physical and psychological scars from that day.
In a powerful reflection of their experiences, NPR Investigations correspondent Tom Dreisbach sat down with Fanone and Hodges to reevaluate their harrowing encounters through their body camera footage. The pair faced extreme violence inside a tunnel at the Capitol, where they were severely outnumbered, confronting rioters armed with various weapons, including flagpoles, crutches, and even stolen police shields.
The trauma from January 6 has been compounded for many of these officers by a sense of betrayal following Trump’s pardon of the rioters. Both officers have faced heavy scrutiny and backlash, receiving death threats and being branded as “crisis actors.” However, the body camera footage they reviewed serves as a chilling testament to the genuine dangers and chaos they faced that day.
The videos come from NPR’s extensive Jan. 6 archive, a public resource dedicated to preserving the historical record of the events surrounding the Capitol attack. Launched as a comprehensive database, it tracks every arrest, charge, verdict, and sentence related to the incident. Recently, this archive has expanded to include police body-camera footage and surveillance video, as well as other courtroom evidence, allowing the public to access a more complete understanding of the events.
While the aftermath of January 6 remains fraught with challenges, the archival efforts provide an avenue for education and remembrance, ensuring that the sacrifices made by officers like Fanone and Hodges are not forgotten but rather honored and understood in their true context. This ongoing effort to document and reflect on such pivotal moments in American history highlights the resilience of law enforcement and the importance of collective memory in the face of ongoing societal challenges.