A heated exchange erupted during the testimony of Special Counsel Jack Smith, as a former Washington D.C. police officer who defended the Capitol on January 6th confronted a prominent election denier.
Michael Fanone, a former Metropolitan Police Department officer who was brutally assaulted by rioters on that fateful day, found himself in a tense altercation with Ivan Raiklin, a far-right activist known for amplifying the false narrative of a “stolen” 2020 election.
The confrontation occurred during a recess in Thursday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, where Smith was delivering his first-ever public testimony. Fanone, wearing a Dropkick Murphys t-shirt with the slogan “fighting Nazis since 1996,” had to be held back by fellow former officers as he repeatedly told Raiklin to “go f*** yourself” and called him a “traitor to this f****** country.”
Raiklin, who had introduced himself to Fanone, was filming the interaction and accused the former officer of having “Tourette’s syndrome.” Fanone, who was dragged down the Capitol steps, beaten with pipes, and threatened with his own gun during the January 6th attack, alleged that Raiklin had previously threatened his family.
The heated exchange highlighted the ongoing tensions between those who defended the Capitol and the election deniers who fueled the insurrection. As Fanone was pulled away, he continued to call Raiklin a “sick bastard,” while the activist suggested he would pursue legal action for defamation.
The incident underscores the deep divisions that still linger in the aftermath of the Capitol attack, as law enforcement officers who risked their lives to protect democracy confront those who sought to undermine it.
