Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is an ex-officer who was stationed to protect the Capitol on January 6th and was beaten so badly that he decided to retire from his life-long career. He also stated that there are only two Republican lawmakers who don’t avoid him in the halls of Congress.

"For some people, that day came and went, and for me, to this day, I'm still dealing with those ramifications. You try to adapt to your new normal, but it's hard.

You have a lot of the people we protected on the day downplaying what happened. Sometimes I run into them in the hallway, and they pretend not to see me. They avoid me or bolt to the right or the left or pretend to be doing something else."

Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said.

The only two Republican lawmakers Sgt. Aquilino Gonell says acknowledges him is Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

"That's coming from all the people protected, whether elected officials or not. You know, it is disheartening. I'm not saying that I need that from them, but that shows a lot from the people who claim that they support the police and back the blue and are pro-law and order."

Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said.

Due to Cassidy Hutchinson’s groundbreaking testimony earlier this month, Sgt. Aquilino Gonell wrote to the New York Times to describe his betrayal felt due to Donald Trump. He wrote, "Although I experienced firsthand the brutal onslaught of the insurrectionists, I was shocked to hear Ms. Hutchinson explain the extent to which former President Donald Trump incited the people who almost killed me.”

Sgt. Aquilino Gonell wrote he doesn’t hold any grudges against the Republican lawmakers who have forgotten him though. He said, "I'm still going to be respectful to them, but they don't want to talk to me. I'm still going to do my job as I did on Jan. 6.”