On January 6th, 2021, Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, originally from the Dominican Republic, reported to his post at the Capitol. He was prepared for a tense day, but what he encountered was a violent mob storming the building that represented all the values he had sworn to uphold when he took his oath to the Constitution and became an American citizen. The sergeant confronted the mob but was beaten, insulted, and overpowered. "This is how I am going to die," he thought.

Gonell's testimony played a crucial role in the Congressional Investigation into the Capitol Assault, but it did not help him heal from the physical and psychological aftermath he has suffered since that day. In December 2022, he stepped down from his position to distance himself from everything that reminded him of that fateful day.

Aquilino's story combines the narrative of the intense events of one of the darkest days in American democracy with the personal journey of an immigrant defending the symbols of American democracy while the nation’s own citizens sought to destroy them.

"Hechos Reales" is a podcast in Spanish. What you are about to hear is an English version, featuring the AI-synthesized voice of the narrator, Álvaro de Cózar.

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