Heated Confrontation Erupts At Jack Smith Hearing

Tempers flared and political divisions were laid bare on January 22, 2026, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing featuring former Special Counsel Jack Smith. What was supposed to be a routine break in the proceedings quickly spiraled into a heated confrontation between retired D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone and conservative activist Ivan Raiklin, a self-styled “secretary of retribution” and vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump.

Fanone, who was seriously injured while defending the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attack and has since become a prominent critic of those downplaying the violence of that day, attended the hearing to support Jack Smith. According to Politico, Fanone said he hoped Smith "would simply share the truth with the American public." He was joined by fellow officers who also served during the insurrection, including Daniel Hodges, Aquilino Gonell, and Harry Dunn.

The day’s tensions reached a boiling point during a break in the hearing. Video footage, later posted on social media by Raiklin, shows him approaching Fanone with an outstretched hand, greeting him by name. The gesture was swiftly rejected. Fanone turned to Raiklin and, with little hesitation, told him, “Go f--- yourself.” When Raiklin pressed, asking why Fanone was responding so harshly, Fanone doubled down, calling him a “traitor to this country.”

As the verbal sparring escalated, Fanone accused Raiklin of threatening his family. “You threatened my family, and you threatened my wife,” Fanone said, his anger palpable. He went further, stating, “He threatened my children, threatened to rape my children – rape my children, you sick bastard. Rape my children!” These accusations were repeated several times, with Fanone’s voice rising above the din of the crowded hearing room.

Raiklin, meanwhile, appeared unfazed in the video, countering Fanone’s outbursts with a measured tone. “Why are you so spasmodic?” he asked, attempting to portray himself as calm and in control. “Look at me, total control of my mind and body, and I’m totally dominating you right now. Totally dominating you right now.” He also questioned whether Fanone’s accusations amounted to defamation, later posting online, “Who thinks I should sue Mr. Fanone for defamation?”

With the situation growing increasingly volatile, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn physically restrained Fanone to prevent any escalation. Capitol Police officers quickly intervened, separating the two men and escorting Fanone and Dunn from the hearing room. Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), presiding over the session, banged his gavel and called for order, while Ranking Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) thanked Fanone for his presence and urged the chairman to manage what he called the "deranged observer"—a clear reference to Raiklin—to avoid further disruptions.

The confrontation didn’t end there. Soon after returning to his seat, Fanone directed his ire at Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), who had just addressed the officers present, including Fanone, Hodges, Gonell, and Dunn. Nehls placed blame for the security failures of January 6 not on Donald Trump, but on Capitol Police leadership. “The fault does not lie with Donald Trump. It lies with Yogananda Pittman and the U.S. Capitol leadership team,” Nehls said, arguing that leadership had failed to act on intelligence about the potential for violence.

Fanone, visibly frustrated, cupped his hands to his mouth and coughed, “Go f--- yourself!” in Nehls’ direction, causing a stir among those in attendance. Chairman Jordan admonished the audience, saying, “You will be in order. The time belongs to the gentleman from Texas. We’ve had some disruptions already. We don’t need that. The gentleman may continue.”

Fanone’s outbursts didn’t go unnoticed by conservative commentators and Republican members of Congress. According to Townhall, Fanone was seen giving the middle finger to Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee during the hearing. Social media quickly filled with reactions, some expressing sympathy for Fanone’s trauma and others criticizing his conduct as unbecoming of someone hailed as a hero by Democrats. “This is really who Democrats call their hero of J6? Someone who can’t even behave like an adult at a congressional hearing. Sad!” one conservative commentator wrote.

For Fanone and his fellow officers, the wounds of January 6 remain raw. Gonell, another officer present at the hearing, told Politico, “Whatever the House Republicans do, it’s not going to wash away what was done to us and to the Capitol. It’s about accountability and what was the betrayal [that] was done to not only us, but to the American people.” These sentiments were echoed by others in the law enforcement community who see continued efforts to minimize or redirect blame for that day as a profound injustice.

Raiklin, for his part, has built a reputation as a provocateur, frequently attending high-profile political events and advocating for pardons for those charged in connection with January 6. His self-styled title as Trump’s “secretary of retribution” and his active social media presence have made him a lightning rod for controversy. In the aftermath of the confrontation, Raiklin continued to post about the incident, questioning Fanone’s credibility and suggesting legal action for defamation.

The hearing itself, intended to scrutinize former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Donald Trump, was overshadowed by these personal and political clashes. The session became a microcosm of the broader national debate over the legacy of January 6 and the ongoing struggle for accountability and reconciliation.

As the committee struggled to maintain order, the stark divisions in the room—between those seeking to hold the former president and his allies accountable, and those intent on shifting blame elsewhere—were impossible to ignore. The raw emotions on display, from Fanone’s fury to Raiklin’s calculated calm, served as a reminder that, five years on, the events of January 6 continue to reverberate through the halls of Congress and the American psyche.

In the end, as Fanone and Dunn were led away and the hearing resumed, the country was left to grapple with the same hard questions that have lingered since 2021: Who bears responsibility for the violence at the Capitol, and how can the nation move forward while so many wounds remain unhealed?