GOP rep demands Republican lawmakers address officers' concerns about downplaying the US Capitol insurrection

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is taking aim at Republican leaders and lawmakers who downplayed the severity of the deadly U.S. Capitol riots.

According to Talking Points Memo, Kinzinger's ire stems from a letter penned by Michael Fanone, an officer with the DC Metropolitan Police, who expressed concern about lawmakers' reaction to the riots. Many Republican lawmakers have downplayed the insurrection while making light of the situation despite several victims losing their lives.

The officer shed light on the harrowing day as he recalled being "beaten with fists, metal objects, stripped of my issued badge, radio and ammunition magazine and electrocuted numerous times with a Taser" as the mob of angry Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Fanone also admitted that he has suffered psychological damage each day since the Capitol riots.

"I struggle daily with the emotional anxiety of having survived such a traumatic event but I also struggle with the anxiety of hearing those who continue to downplay the events of that day and those who would ignore them altogether with their lack of acknowledgment," he wrote, describing the "indifference" to law enforcement officers' challenges as "disgraceful."

On Wednesday, May 5, the Illinois lawmaker tweeted out Fanone's letter as he sounded off on Republican leaders via Twitter specifically calling out House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.).

"Did Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise talk to Officer Michael Fanone from DC metro about his experience on Jan 6th yet?" Kinzinger tweeted. "It sure seems like they talked to Trump about it."

Although most Americans viewed the disturbing series of events that unfolded on Jan. 6, Republican lawmakers have gone above and beyond to change the narrative surrounding the U.S. Capitol riots. Kinzinger and a small number of other Republican lawmakers are still working to ensure they are held accountable for upholding former President Donald Trump's attempted coup.