photo by: Contributed

Michael Fanone, a former Metro Washington DC police officer, will speak in Lawrence at an event hosted by Leading Kansas at Maceli's, 1031 New Hampshire St., on Sunday, March 1.

A former police officer who responded to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will be in Lawrence to discuss issues of democracy and political extremism and share his story from that day’s events.

Michael Fanone, a former Metro Washington D.C. police officer who was assaulted during the riot at the U.S. Capitol five years ago will speak at an event on Sunday, March 1, at Maceli’s, 1031 New Hampshire St. The discussion is hosted by Leading Kansas, a nonpartisan organization that aims to ensure government accountability.

Noah Taylor, a founder of the group, said that he will be interviewing Fanone during the event in Lawrence to discuss his experience during the Jan. 6 riot and the aftermath, including the varied responses from the government.

Taylor said that Fanone responded to calls for backup during the Jan. 6 riots, where thousands of protestors gathered in Washington D.C. to support false claims that Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election was due to election irregularities. At least five people died in the aftermath, and hundreds of officers, including Fanone, were injured during the riots.

During the attack, Fanone was assaulted by the rioters and suffered a heart attack and traumatic brain injury, according to a press release from Leading Kansas. Taylor said it is important that he can share his story because the discussion following the riot saw the narrative “completely change” and conspiracies began to crop up as a result.

“Being able to hear from someone that was there…his perspective (is) incredibly important,” Taylor said.

The event in Lawrence is one of two discussions that Leading Kansas will host with Fanone, with the first one happening in Wichita on Saturday. Taylor said that the organization wants to host these discussions because Kansans “are split on what happened that day and who is responsible,” so hearing from someone with firsthand experience can cut through the noise about the event.

“Our goal is to protect the truth,” Taylor said.

Taylor hopes that putting truth in the spotlight can help cut through partisanship in the state and get Kansas back to a place where people across the aisle can “sit down at the table and have tough conversations.”

“We always try to facilitate constructive dialogue,” Taylor said. “That doesn’t mean (people will) agree on everything, but we need to have conversations where we disagree and keep it civil.”

The discussion will be held at Maceli’s, 1031 New Hampshire St. on Sunday, March 1, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. To register for the free event, you can visit the organization’s website.

Former Washington, D.C. police officer Michael Fanone speaks in support of President Joe Biden across the street from former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)