A former Capitol police officer who was brutally beaten by January 6 rioters said Josh Hawley 'ran like a coward' when the mob broke in

• Michael Fanone slammed Josh Hawley after a video of the lawmaker fleeing the Capitol mob was aired.
• Hawley, who had stirred up protesters, was seen running away as they stormed the Capitol building.

A former DC police officer who was brutally beaten by rioters during the Capitol riot has called Sen. Josh Hawley a "coward" and a "bitch" for fleeing from the very mob he helped rile up.

Michael Fanone, who was knocked unconscious and badly injured in the attack at the Capitol, made the comments on Thursday in response to a video clip shown by the January 6 panel during its eighth public hearing on the riot.

In the clip, Hawley is seen running away as rioters poured into the Capitol building.

The now infamous image of Hawley raising his fist — seemingly in support of the January 6 rioters — as he entered the Capitol hours earlier stands in sharp contrast to the footage seen on Thursday.

"I thought he ran like a coward," Fanone told CNN's Don Lemon on Thursday.

"Like many people in Trump world, he performs when he's in front of a camera, and he acts very differently when he is not," he added.

Fanone also lamented that "a lot of Americans" tend to react positively to such behavior.

The former police officer also had some choice words for Hawley when interviewed by Politico.

"Well, to be completely honest, to give you the first thoughts that popped into my mind — Josh Hawley is a bitch. And he ran like a bitch," Fanone said when asked about the Hawley clip.

"The fist pump, combined with what he did in the immediate aftermath just shows the true character or lack thereof," he added, referring to the lawmaker.

Fanone told Politico that there was an "eruption" of laughter after the video clip of Hawley fleeing was played.

"Listen, obviously, I see the amusement of it, and I'm not going to fault people for finding it humorous, but that pisses me off. That guy's a clown," Fanone said.

Representatives for Hawley did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.