CNN airs incredibly explicit and threatening voicemail D.C. officer received during Jan. 6 testimony

Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone shared with CNN's Don Lemon Tonight a threatening voicemail he received while testifying in front of the Jan. 6 House select committee on Tuesday.

The voicemail, which Lemon says Fanone requested air without censorship, is laced with expletives and offensive slurs, and accuses the officer of both lying and dramatically performing as he shared his account of what happened during the Capitol riot. During the hearing, Fanone said he felt he had gone "to hell and back" to protect American lawmakers and citizens, some of whom now show a "disgraceful" amount of indifference toward the events of Jan. 6.

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"This is what happens to people that tell the truth in Trump's America," Fanone said in response to the message. And he's unfortunately "come to expect" this kind of reaction. "It's not the first time that people have expressed similar opinions to me. Unfortunately, you know, ... there is an element in this country that believes that."

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Watch more of Fanone's remarks below.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.