Officers who fought off the Jan. 6 mob praise Harris for reclaiming site of Trump's speech

WASHINGTON — As Kamala Harris spoke Tuesday night at the Ellipse near the White House, the spot where Donald Trump urged his supporters to "fight like hell" on Jan. 6, 2021, some of the very officers who fought off the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol that day were watching.

Officer Daniel Hodges, of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department, who was on duty both for Trump’s Jan. 6 event and Harris’ rally, said Tuesday was a very different experience.

“I’m glad Harris recognizes the opportunity to physically evoke the events of Jan. 6th in order to communicate the stakes of this election and contrast that day with the message of her campaign,” Hodges told NBC News before his shift began. “Policing the event certainly brings back memories of what happened the last time I worked an event on the Ellipse, but it’s important to move forward.”

Hodges, a military veteran, was crushed inside the lower west tunnel on Jan. 6. He has since become an outspoken opponent of Trump's, testifying before the House Jan. 6 committee and campaigning for Harris. He said he was glad that Harris chose to host a rally at the spot where Trump told his supporters to march to the Capitol.

“The space of the Mall and the Capitol is too powerful to the American psyche to cede to the horrors Trump and his ilk wrought in 2021,” he continued.

After his shift, Hodges said the Harris rally was much less eventful than his day on Jan. 6, when he was assaulted by members of the mob who — even this week — are still being sentenced for their crimes against him.

While Hodges spent Jan. 6 fighting a pro-Trump mob in the lower west tunnel, he didn't see much action in the aftermath of Harris' speech. “I ate District Taco today; that was nice,” he joked. “Didn’t do that on the 6th.”

Harris talked about Jan. 6 in her speech, referring to the officers who were injured. One of the opening speeches was from Craig Sicknick, the brother of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who died the day after the Capitol attack.

“My family knows how dangerous Trump is. He incited the crowd to riot while my brother and his fellow officers put their lives at risk,” Sicknick told the crowd. “Now, Mr. Trump is promising to pardon the convicted criminals who attacked our Capitol, killing my brother and injuring over 140 other officers. This is simply wrong. We need a real leader, and Kamala Harris is that leader.”

Sicknick died of natural causes on Jan. 7 after he suffered two strokes, but a medical examiner said the events of Jan. 6 played a role in his death. Sicknick was assaulted with a chemical irritant, and a Trump supporter is serving a six-year sentence for the assault.

“I’ve had enough of Trump’s politics of chaos, anger and hate. It has real and dangerous consequences for all of us. It’s time to turn the page and choose Kamala as our president,” Craig Sicknick said. “And Brian, we miss you every day.”

Out in the crowd as Harris and Craig Sicknick spoke was former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who retired in the aftermath of the attack, in which he was assaulted multiple times and left bleeding.

Gonell told NBC News that “the whole atmosphere was very different than Jan. 6, 2021."

“I was very emotional, especially when Brian Sicknick’s brother came up to speak. I shed some tears, just because I know what it means,” Gonell said. “I just hope that Brian’s sacrifices weren’t in vain, that his sacrifice means something, not only to his family and to myself, but to the nation. Brian would’ve been here with us, he wouldn’t have died, if it wasn’t for Donald Trump and his allies.”

Gonell, who has also campaigned for Harris, said her speech was positive. “It wasn’t about retribution, it wasn’t about subverting our democracy, but being hopeful,” he said.

Gonell, a military veteran and immigrant who long ago received his citizenship, noted his wife is now an American citizen. She'll be casting her first ballot this year, hoping to defeat Trump.

“I hope that people realize that we shouldn’t accept the political violence," Gonell said. "We shouldn’t accept what Donald Trump did on Jan. 6."

Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.