Former Washington D.C. police officer Michael Fanone, who defended the Capitol during the January 6 riot, was involved in a heated argument with election denier Ivan Raiklin during a break in Jack Smith's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Fanone, who suffered severe injuries during the 2021 attack, repeatedly told Raiklin to "go f*** yourself" and called him a "traitor to this f****** country." Other former officers had to hold Fanone back to prevent the situation from escalating physically.
Raiklin, a Trump loyalist who has called himself the "secretary of retribution," was among those who amplified false claims urging then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the 2020 election results. During the confrontation, Raiklin filmed the interaction and later accused Fanone of defamation on social media.
Fanone later wrote on Substack that he showed restraint, stating that when someone who made violent threats against his family approaches him, restraint is all that prevents a worse outcome. The incident occurred as Republican lawmakers criticised Smith for his role in prosecuting Trump, while Trump has since pardoned over 600 individuals charged in connection with the attack.
