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Former Metropolitan Police Officer (MPD) Michael Fanone was briefly escorted out of a congressional hearing on former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday following a tense exchange with Ivan Raiklin, a one-time Army reservist and right-wing operative.
Raiklin called out to Fanone and introduced himself amid a packed House Judiciary Committee hearing room, prompting Fanone to turn around and say, “Go f— yourself. … Don’t pretend like we’re not mortal enemies.”
The confrontation escalated to a near-physical altercation, as Fanone repeatedly lobbed obscenities at Raiklin and Raiklin told Fanone to “control his Tourette syndrome.”
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Former MPD Officer Michael Fanone, left, argues with right-wing operative Ivan Raiklin during a break in testimony by former special counsel Jack Smith with the House Judiciary Committee, Jan. 22, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Fanone was among four D.C. police officers seated behind Smith during the hearing, which centered on Smith’s two prosecutions of President Donald Trump related to the 2020 election and classified documents. The police officers were among those who responded to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, which stemmed from a protest against the 2020 election results.
Another of the four officers restrained Fanone before a police officer guided them out of the hearing room. As he exited, Democratic lawmakers applauded Fanone.
Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., called for his counterpart, Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to control Raiklin so that he “doesn’t create any other problems.”
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(L/R) Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges, retired U.S. Capitol Police officer Aquilino Gonel and former officer with the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia Michael Fanone attend a hearing of former special counsel Jack Smith before the House Judiciary Committee, Jan. 22, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Fanone was violently assaulted by rioters on Jan. 6, according to video footage and court papers. One of his attackers, Daniel Rodriguez, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for using a stun gun multiple times on Fanone. Prosecutors said the officer suffered burn injuries, lost consciousness for more than two minutes and has since experienced cognitive difficulties because of the attack.
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Fanone retired in 2021 after 20 years in the police force and emerged as a vocal critic of the Jan. 6 attack. He testified before the Jan. 6 House Committee, and Democrats have often pointed to Fanone’s experience to illustrate that dozens of police officers faced physical attacks during the breach.
