Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who played key a role in defending the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 Capitol riot, will attend the certification of the 2024 election results as a guest of Senator Adam Schiff, calling his attendance a great opportunity to "to make it as uncomfortable as possible for the GOP members who try to whitewash that day and lie about what happened and pretend that we didn't save them."
Hodges, who sustained injuries in the insurrection, made the comments in an interview with CBS this morning. Hodges has been vocal about his experiences and the need for accountability, including lending his testimony the House Select Committee investigating the incident, providing evidence in trials related to the attack, and criticizing former President Donald Trump for inciting the mob.
DC officer Daniel Hodges, injured by mob on Jan 6, will attend electoral certification today
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 6, 2025
Hodges: "It'll be my honor to make it as uncomfortable as possible for the GOP members who try to whitewash that day and lie about what happened and pretend that we didn't save them" pic.twitter.com/fxC1hn9Xuy
The officer became widely recognized for a harrowing video showing him crushed in a Capitol doorway while trying to hold back rioters. Reflecting on the events in an Op Ed for The Hill back in March, Hodges described the mob as "organized" and "prepared for violence", adding that those who attender were "fanatically devoted to Trump."
He also recounted how rioters assaulted officers, stripped them of gear, and called them traitors, all while attempting to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election.
"As my colleagues and I healed from the injuries we sustained, I burned with the need for answers about what happened that day — and with the desire to hold those who incited the insurrection accountable for their actions," he added back then.
Hodges has used his platform to advocate for justice, participating in legal cases against individuals involved in the insurrection. Despite threats and attempts to discredit his testimony, Hodges says he remains committed to sharing the truth about January 6.
"They still make arrests. I still testify in court. It keeps getting harder and harder — I get more emotional in court, which is odd ... I don't think a day has gone by where I don't think about it," Hodges told Roll Call ahead of the fourth anniversary of the attack.
"But the truth still matters," he continued. "I feel an ethical obligation to make sure that people understand what actually took place."
In a recent interview with "Meet the Press", President-elect Donald Trump said that he would "most likely" issue pardons to rioters on Day 1 of his presidency, adding that "those people have suffered long and hard. He did however acknowledge that "there may be some exceptions to it" alluding to cases in which "somebody was radical, crazy."
Originally published on Latin Times
