Two years ago, the Capitol was attacked by rioters who supported and were encouraged by then-President Donald Trump. One of the U.S. Capitol Police officers trying to protect people that day was Lieutenant Tarik "T.K." Johnson. But a video shared after the attack of Johnson wearing a MAGA hat and talking to demonstrators led to an assumption that he was sympathetic to the attackers. Now Johnson is telling his side of what happened that day in his first broadcast interview since the attacks.
TARIK JOHNSON: My last day of actually working was January the 6 of 2021.
FADEL: Johnson was almost immediately suspended from duty for 17 months.
Did they tell you why? Why you were suspended?
JOHNSON: I believe the MAGA hat situation. And I was suspended 'cause the leadership did not want me telling this story.
FADEL: After his suspension, Johnson chose to quit the Capitol Police force. He said he was worried there'd be retribution for his criticism of department leadership. And he says that leadership failed him and his fellow officers that day as they were being attacked.
JOHNSON: I saw fighting like I've never seen before in my entire life. They were punching, and they were swinging. They were throwing water bottles. They were throwing, like, smoke bombs, gas bombs. I had heard on the radio that rioters had actually got into the building. Once the Capitol was actually breached, I thought that was it. I thought my life was going to be over. So I called my wife, and I told her, the Capitol is breached. I don't know if I'm getting out of this. I love you, and I love Angela, which is my daughter....
...JOHNSON: I had no idea what was coming that day, but we could have known. And one of the biggest issues is that when the fighting occurred on that day and I begged for help, I wasn't begging Donald Trump for help. I was begging Yogananda Pittman. And she ignored me.
FADEL: Former U.S. Capitol Police officer T.K. Johnson. We asked the U.S. Capitol Police for a response to Johnson's accusation that former Assistant Chief of Police Yogananda Pittman ignored his request for direction during the attack. The department said in a written statement that it was, quote, "baffling" because Johnson was part of uniformed operations, and the statement said she was not in his chain of command that day. She was assistant chief of police for protective and intelligence operations. They say officials from uniformed operations did respond and provided direction. Also, the department said they couldn't tell us why Johnson was suspended because they can't discuss personnel matters. The statement did say it wasn't just about a political hat.
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