A former Washington D.C. police officer who was badly injured during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol has endorsed Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman over Dr. Mehmet Oz, his Republican opponent.
In a campaign ad for Fetterman, Michael Fanone said Oz has aligned himself with supporters of former President Donal Trump and election deniers.
“Mehmet Oz is no ordinary Republican. He has aligned himself with Donald Trump, the first president in U.S. history to send his supporters to attack their fellow Americans, police officers, in an attempt to subvert democracy,” Fanone said.
He also said Oz is not the “independent voice he claims to be. He is a mouthpiece for Donald Trump and his hate-filled, violent rhetoric.”
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Former Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone was attacked by a rioter who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison. In a campaign ad, Fanone gave his support to Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman over Dr. Mehmet Oz. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
Fanone said thousands of rioters descended on the Capitol and were “fueled by the lies peddled by Donald Trump and his allies and directed by the former president himself to take the fight to the Capitol.”
Fetterman, the Pennsylvania liutenent governor, and Oz are locked in a battle for the Senate. The pair squared off in their only debate on Oct. 25. Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, struggled to effectively communicate on multiple occasions and used closed captioning because his ability for auditory processing is still limited.
Media titan Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday that she was endorsing Fetterman over Oz.
“I’m honored to have the support of Officer Fanone, a true American hero who (unlike Oz) believes in supporting democracy,” Fetterman wrote in a tweet that accompanied the ad.
Fanone was injured during the Jan. 6 riot as a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden 2020 election victory. A Tennessee man, Albuquerque Cosper Head, was sentenced last month to more than seven years in prison for his role in the chaos.
Democratic Senate candidate, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, left, and Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, right. (AP Photo)
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Head engaged in some of the most barbaric violence during the Capitol riot, repeatedly assaulting police officers who were guarding a tunnel on the Lower West Terrace, according to prosecutors.
Fanone was on the front lines of the battle for control of the tunnel entrance when Head grabbed him. Head yelled “I’ve got one!” as he wrapped his arms around Fanone’s neck and dragged him into the crowd outside the tunnel, prosecutors said.
In the campaign ad, he said he sustained a brain injury, had a heart attack and was later diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
“He was your prey. He was your trophy,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Head before handing down his sentence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.