‘HE COMPLETELY FROZE’

GOP Rep. Refused to Shake Hands With Officer Who Defended Capitol on Jan. 6

After Michael Fanone explained why he was in the Capitol, he said, Rep. Andrew Clyde “turned away from me, pulled out his cellphone and started thumbing through the apps.”

A Republican member of Congress refused to shake the hand of a police officer who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 while the two rode an elevator together Wednesday. Officer Michael Fanone, who was beaten unconscious and suffered a heart attack as a result of fighting during the Capitol riot, had come to Capitol Hill to speak to members of Congress who voted against awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Capitol Police officers who responded to the attack. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) was one such member, and when Fanone stepped into an elevator with him, Clyde refused to greet Fanone. The officer said, “I knew immediately he recognized me by the way he reacted. He completely froze. He just stared at me.” And then after Fanone explained why he was there, he said, Clyde “turned away from me, pulled out his cellphone and started thumbing through the apps.” Clyde has become one of the most revisionist voices on the Capitol riot, voting against the Gold Medal and calling the attempted insurrection a “normal tourist visit.”