Officers who defended the Capitol fight falsehoods about Jan. 6 and campaign for Joe Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is mostly recovered from the brutal assaults he endured from Donald Trump’s supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. But not completely. His shoulder still has limited endurance and there are screws and a metal plate holding his right foot together after bone fusion surgery.

Emotional recovery has been more difficult. Gonell struggled when he heard that former Trump visited Capitol Hill last month and received what he called a “hero’s welcome” from the Republican lawmakers Gonell had protected that day, and when Trump falsely told millions of viewers in last week’s debate that many of the violent rioters, his supporters, “were ushered in by the police.”

Trump’s Capitol Hill visit was a “triggering mechanism for my PTSD,” says Gonell, who retired from the force in 2022 due to his injuries and has recently participated in several campaign events for President Joe Biden. “We did what we had to do to keep those elected officials safe, and instead of siding with us, the officers, they have sided with a person who put their lives at risk.”

Three and a half years after the Capitol attack, Trump still falsely claims the 2020 election was stolen. He has promised that if he wins the presidency again he will pardon his supporters who violently beat police and broke into the Capitol to try and overturn the legitimate results. To counter the misinformation, Gonell and two of his fellow officers who were there that day are working with Biden’s campaign, attending events in swing states to try and make sure that voters don’t forget.

“I’m a living primary source about an important day in American history,” says Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who became a recognizable face shortly after the attack when a video of him being crushed between two doors went viral. “So I try to make that count, and make it so that people hear the truth from someone who was there.”

Along with former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, Hodges and Gonell are telling audiences about what they went through that day and trying to lay out the contrast between Biden and Trump. It's an unusual transition for law enforcement officers who once protected members of Congress and are used to keeping their political views to themselves.

“I’m really an introvert, and I’m not someone to seek a microphone or an audience,” says Hodges, who testified along with Gonell and Dunn at the House Jan. 6 panel’s first hearing in 2021. “But I’m in this unique position where people will listen to what I say about an important issue. So I feel a moral obligation to do so.”

At recent events in Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, they stood with local officials and said that Trump is a danger to the country after trying to overturn Biden’s legitimate election.

“Three and a half years later, the fight for democracy still continues,” Dunn recently told a group of voters in Arizona, flanked by a handful of politically active Democratic veterans in Phoenix. “It still goes on. Donald Trump is still that threat. His deranged, self-centered, obsessive quest for power is the reason violent insurrectionists assaulted my coworkers and I.”

The officers have also aggressively pushed back on Trump’s comments at the debate, where he falsely said that there were a “relatively small” group of protesters and that the police let them enter the Capitol. More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot, and police were bloodied and injured — some seriously — as they struggled to prevent more from getting in.

Dunn, who recently lost his own bid for a congressional seat in Maryland, said after the debate that Trump’s comments were “a slap in the face, but it’s what we have come to expect from Donald Trump.”

And the officers said they are still supporting Biden, even after he failed to push back on many of Trump’s false claims about Jan. 6 and received widespread criticism for his weak showing at the debate.

“He could have been a little more forceful, but I’ll take the person who doesn’t send a mob to kill me and my colleagues over the other person,” said Gonell, who published a book last year about his experience. “Every single day I’m reminded of that horrible day. Every time I put my shoes on, I see my scar.”

Gonell was caught in the worst of the fighting on the Capitol’s west front as Trump’s supporters protesting his defeat violently tried to push past him and his fellow officers. At one point he was pulled under the crowd and lost oxygen to the point that he thought he would die.

Hodges was nearby, trapped in the heavy golden doors in the center of the Capitol’s west front as rioters beat him bloody. A video of his guttural scream as he tried to escape went viral and was played at Democrats' impeachment trial in the weeks after the attack.

Dunn, who has said he was targeted with racial slurs by Trump’s supporters during the fighting, says it has been good to travel out of the Washington area, his hometown, and talk to people who may not be watching cable news every day as he campaigns for Biden. There’s a lot they don’t know about what happened on Jan. 6, he says.

“Being able to have somebody who was there bring firsthand experience and facts retelling the story, it’s very beneficial,” Dunn said,

The officers were widely praised after Jan. 6, but their criticism of Trump in recent years has made them less popular with some Republicans. When Gonell and Dunn visited the Pennsylvania legislature this spring, some Republicans booed them.

But they are unbowed by the criticism, and have continued to try and bring more attention to their stories. Gonell was outside the Supreme Court on Monday as the justices ruled on whether Trump has immunity for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election and criticized the justices for sending the federal case back to a lower court. The decision effectively ends any prospects that Trump could be tried before the November election.

On Friday, the court limited a federal obstruction law that has been used to charge some Capitol riot defendants.

“Every single time that the Supreme Court or any other court says that some of these people shouldn’t be held accountable, it’s a disgrace,” Gonell said.

Associated Press writer Jonathan Cooper contributed to this report from Phoenix.

FILE - Former U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is joined by former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn as he holds up pieces of glass, metal and rubber bullets from the lower west terrace entrance of the Capitol as a reminder of the Jan. 6 insurrection as he speaks during a news conference on the campaign for President Joe Biden, May 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)

FILE - Washington Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges speaks during a news conference at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in Washington, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - Former U.S. Capitol police officer Harry Dunn speaks as former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, left, and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan listen. during a news conference at the Georgia State Capitol ahead of the Presidential Debate Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

FILE - Washington Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges speaks during a news conference at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in Washington, April 1, 2024, as former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, center, and Biden-Harris communications director Michael Tyler, right, listen. Hodges and Gonell both were working and responded to the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - Former U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, is interviewed outside of the Supreme Court, July 1, 2024, after the court decision o the immunity case of former President Donald Trump, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

MUNICH (AP) — Spain and France meet in the semifinals of the European Championship on Tuesday. The match pits one of the highest-scoring teams at the tournament against one of the lowest as France’s star forward Kylian Mbappé has struggled to get to grips with his mask. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) in Munich. Here’s what to know about the match:

— The winner will play England or the Netherlands in the final on Sunday in Berlin. Their semifinal is on Wednesday.

— Spain and France's quarterfinals both went to extra time. Substitute Mikel Merino’s game-winning goal in the last minute of extra time handed Spain a 2-1 victory over host nation Germany, while France needed penalties to see off Portugal after the match ended goalless.

— No France player has scored from open play at Euro 2024. The French have only scored through two own goals and a penalty from Mbappé. Spain has netted 11 times.

— Mbappé, who will be facing several of his new Real Madrid teammates, will again be wearing a protective mask after sustaining a broken nose in France’s group opener against Austria.

— Spain, which is chasing a record fourth European Championship title, has been perfect in Germany. It was the only team to win all its group stage matches, while France could only muster draws against Poland and the Netherlands after a narrow win over Austria.

— Spain paid the price for its dramatic win over Germany and a number of players will miss the semifinal — and in some cases the final should La Roja get there — because of suspension or injury.

— Midfielder Pedri had to come off in the eighth minute against Germany with a knee injury following a hefty challenge from Toni Kroos and has been ruled out of the rest of Euro 2024. He will again be replaced by Dani Olmo — who came on for the 21-year-old and went on to score the opener as well as set up Merino’s winner.

— Dani Carvajal was sent off late in extra time for a second yellow card and will be suspended against France, as will fellow defender Robin le Normand after picking up another booking. Veteran Jesús Navas is likely to be tasked with marking Mbappé.

— France coach Didier Deschamps has no injury problems as Marcus Thuram returned to training on Sunday, alleviating concerns he could miss the semifinal after taking a blow to his thigh at the end of the match against Portugal.

— Spain and France have only conceded three goals between them. The only time France goalkeeper Mike Maignan had to pick the ball out of his net was Poland's retaken penalty in the group stage, while Spain conceded against Georgia and Germany.

— The teams have met 36 times, with Spain winning 16 to France’s 13 — including five of the past eight.

— This is Spain’s sixth European Championship semifinal. It has only once failed to advance to the trophy match, losing on penalties to eventual champion Italy at Euro 2020.

— France has reached the semifinals on five previous occasions, winning three.

— France has reached the final in three of last four major tournaments, losing 1-0 after extra time to Portugal at Euro 2016 and to Argentina on penalties in the 2022 World Cup, but beating Croatia to claim its second world title in 2018.

“We’re in the semifinals and it’s something we shouldn’t take for granted, even if we may be used to it recently. Now we go to win it.” — France coach Didier Deschamps.

“Very few people gave us a chance and staying under the radar helped us start the tournament with confidence. Spain is a team to respect. I knew we had a great team and that’s how it turned out.” — Spain defender Marc Cucurella.

“It’s natural for him. He has this gift of carrying the team, the group. He gives ideas, advice to the players. He was born for that. He was born to pull the group up.” — France striker Randal Kolo Muani on Mbappé’s captaincy.

“My players are insatiable. There’s always room for improvement, of course, but we can’t question their pride, quality and commitment.” — Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

Spain's Pedri, right, covers his face after suffering an injury during a quarter final match between Germany and Spain at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

France head coach Didier Deschamps gestures during a training session in Paderborn, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, ahead of their quarterfinal soccer match against Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Spain's head coach Luis de la Fuente monitors the training session ahead of Tuesday's Euro 2024, semifinal soccer match against France in Donaueschingen, Germany, Monday, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spain's Marc Cucurella attends a press conference ahead of Tuesday's Euro 2024, semifinal soccer match against France in Donaueschingen, Germany, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spain's Mikel Merino celebrates after scoring his sides second goal during a quarter final match between Germany and Spain at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spain's Mikel Merino, centre, scores his side's second goal during a quarter final match between Germany and Spain at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Kylian Mbappe of France, right, gestures during a quarter final match against Portugal the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

France players celebrate after penalty shootout against Portugal during a quarter final match at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Spain's players celebrate at the end of a quarter final match between Germany and Spain at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Spain's Nico Williams, left, and his teammate Spain's Lamine Yamal take part in a training session ahead of Tuesday's Euro 2024, semifinal soccer match against France in Donaueschingen, Germany, Monday, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Kylian Mbappe of France controls the ball during a quarter final match between Portugal and France at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)