Michael Fanone

Michael Fanone (born September 3, 1980) is an American law enforcement analyst, author, and retired police officer. He worked for the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia from 2001 until his retirement in 2021. Fanone was one of many victims of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and testified with his colleagues in front of the House Select Committee investigating the attack in 2021. He is currently a CNN on-air contributor.

Fanone was born on September 3, 1980, and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. His mother, Terry Fanone, is a social worker and his father is a lawyer at a large law firm. They divorced when he was eight years old. His mother came from a working-class family in rural Maryland. Fanone attended St. Mary's Elementary School, and Georgetown Preparatory School for a year. He then attended boarding school in Maine. He left to work in construction and graduated from Ballou High School.

Fanone joined the United States Capitol Police during the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. A few years later, he joined the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, remaining a member for approximately 20 years. He worked primarily as a plain-clothes and undercover officer, investigating narcotics trafficking. In 2010 he illegally stopped and frisked a black attorney, which caused the city to payout $175,000 (~$230,417 in 2022) to the victim.

During the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol Fanone, who did not go on duty until the afternoon, self-deployed in response to radio calls for assistance. He was assaulted by rioters—dragged down the Capitol steps, beaten with pipes, stunned with a Taser, sprayed with chemical irritants, and threatened with his own gun. Fanone suffered burns, a heart attack, a concussion, a traumatic brain injury, and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the attack.

Alongside fellow officers Harry Dunn, Aquilino Gonell, and Daniel Hodges, Fanone testified before the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, in which he discussed his experiences with rioters that afternoon. In the testimony, Fanone noted:

At some point during the fighting, I was dragged from the line of officers and into the crowd. I heard someone scream—"I got one!". As I was swarmed by a violent mob, they ripped off my badge. They grabbed and stripped me of my radio. They seized ammunition that was secured to my body. They began to beat me with their fists, and what felt like hard metal objects. At one point, I came face-to-face with an attacker, who repeatedly lunged for me and attempted to remove my firearm. I heard chanting from some in the crowd—"Get his gun!" and "Kill him with his own gun!"

In June 2021, Fanone asked Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans in Congress to denounce the January 6 conspiracies. Due to physical and emotional injuries, he returned to limited duty in September 2021, working in the technical and analytical services bureau. In October 2021, one of the men charged with assaulting Fanone was released from jail and put under house arrest. After submitting his resignation, Fanone's last day on duty was December 31, 2021.

Fanone joined CNN in January 2022 as an on-air contributor and law enforcement analyst.

Ahead of the second anniversary of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Fanone wrote a letter, signed by more than 1,000 veterans, law enforcement, active military members and family, calling on Republican leadership in the United States House of Representatives to denounce political violence. The letter was hand delivered by military veterans to top Republican leaders, and Fanone delivered a copy of the letter to the office of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Fanone and dozens of military veterans, including House members Reps. Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan, Mikie Sherrill, and Chris Deluzio, also spoke at a rally in front of the United States Capitol, which was organized by the groups Courage for America and Common Defense.

On January 6, 2023, Fanone was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Joe Biden.

On June 21, 2023, Daniel Rodriguez, one of the men who attacked Fanone with a stun gun on January 6, 2021, was sentenced to 12 and a half years in federal prison by Judge Amy Berman Jackson.

Fanone is divorced and has four daughters. While he remained estranged from his ex-wife until the January 6 attack, after the attack he described her as "a pretty integral part of [his] support system".

He lives in Virginia with his mother. Fanone was formerly a supporter of Donald Trump and voted for him in the 2016 United States presidential election, but stopped supporting him after his dismissal of James Comey and after comments he made that he perceived to be anti-Asian.

In August 2023, Fanone wrote a CNN op-ed in which he called for a ban on the AR-15.

• Fanone, Michael; Shiffman, John (2022). Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop's Battle for America's Soul. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781668007198.