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HARRISBURG Pa. — As the Pennsylvania House of Representatives recognized two police officers Wednesday who defended the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, several House Republicans booed or walked off the floor in protest and at least one state official yelled “traitor” at the men.
Lawmakers routinely bring special guests with them to be recognized, such as a local sports team that won a state championship, a school club, or a civic association. House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) typically reads the list of visitors, and House members applaud.
That wasn’t the case, when the two U.S. Capitol police officers visited Wednesday.
The officers — Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell — stopped in Harrisburg as they traveled the state in support of President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. Both officers testified before the U.S. House’s Jan. 6th Select Committee about how they were treated during the riot.
As McClinton introduced Dunn and Gonell as having “bravely defended democracy” from rioters, a handful of Republican members left the floor while others stayed in the room but made their objections known, Democratic members said.
It was not clear from video footage of the proceedings who walked out or booed, because the video does not show the full House chamber.
Several Democrats said they saw far-right State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R., Clinton) yell “traitor” at the men. Borowicz could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
“There are folks, for whatever reason, decided instead of standing and honoring the heroic action of these former officers, they decided to walk away,” said Rep. Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia). “The fact is, yesterday, they turned their backs on the blue.”
The Biden campaign released a statement from the officers.
“The fact they’re scared to listen to those of us who were there and witnessed the political violence of January 6 first hand speaks volumes,” Dunn said.
House Republican Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster), who can be seen standing to applaud the officers alongside other Republicans on the video recording of the session, said in a statement that bringing the two officers to the House after a campaign event was inappropriate. He noted that the House Democratic Campaign Committee had then sought to fundraise off the incident.
“The PA House Democrats’ good will in this situation is suspect as they immediately used their politicized actions in the House chamber to fundraise for their campaign coffers,” Cutler added. “Unfortunately, they have, through House processes, demonstrated a pattern of antagonizing members and inviting division and discord for their political and campaign purposes.”
Democrats took control of the state House in 2023 for the first time in 12 years, and hold a one-seat majority. They’re hoping to hold onto control in the November general election, in which all 203 seats are on the ballot. Republicans hope to reclaim the majority.
Rep. Mike Schlossberg (D., Lehigh) claimed that House Republicans, when they controlled the chamber, would recognize their own political figures, and Democrats did not have the same reaction.
“I find it very interesting that Republicans are saying we’re politicizing the issue of Jan. 6,” Schlossberg added. “If they perceive an attack on democracy as an attack on the Republican Party, perhaps their policies are out of line with democracy.”