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In mid-June 2021, viral social media posts claimed a U.S. Republican congressman who has previously been accused of attempting to downplay the seriousness of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack refused to shake hands with a police officer who had tried that day to protect the federal building from the violent mob of Donald Trump supporters. Before we unpack that accusation, some context: On June 15, the House of Representatives approved a proposal on a 406-21 vote to award the highest congressional honor to the Capitol Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) for protecting the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack. Those who voted no on the measure to recognize officers with the Congressional Gold Medal were all Republicans who said they had qualms with describing the events of Jan. 6 as an insurrection or the Capitol as a temple of democracy, among other issues, according to news reports and the congressional voting record. The day after that vote, a group including MPD officer Michael Fanone, who was injured during the Jan. 6 attack, visited the Capitol to try to meet with the above-mentioned Republicans and share his experience of trying to fend off the mob. On an elevator during that June 16 tour, Fanone said, he introduced himself to Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde — who is one of the aforementioned 21 Republicans — and the congressman did not shake his hand. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat who represents a portion of California's Bay Area, was among the first people to report the alleged elevator encounter on Twitter. Fanone introduced himself as 'someone who fought to defend the Capitol' and put out his hand. Clyde refused to shake it, he tweeted June 16 around 3:30 p.m. EST. Multiple news outlets ran with the story, including The Washington Post, which claimed in a headline: GOP congressman refuses to shake hands with D.C. police officer who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6. A spokesperson for Swalwell told Snopes that Fanone had called the congressman immediately after the run-in occured to share what had happened. Then, after Swalwell's tweet went viral, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican serving Illinois, said he called the police officer, and he confirmed with him the alleged event took place. As posts about the interaction spread rapidly online, Fanone went on CNN's Don Lemon Tonight to explain the incident for himself: In summary, Fanone told the news anchor that he extended his hand to Clyde, and the Congressman responded saying he didn't recognize the police officer. After that, Fanone said he introduced himself as a police officer who fought on Jan. 6 to defend the Capitol, and then Clyde allegedly turned away. The police officer likened the interaction to Clyde giving the middle finger to myself and every other member of [MPD] and U.S. Capitol Police that responded that day, according to a recording of his CNN appearance. No photo or video evidence existed to corroborate Fanone's story. However, Harry Dunn, a 13-year veteran of the Capitol Police, told Snopes he was in the elevator, too, and verified the key points of Fanone's CNN interview in an email to Snopes, displayed below: In other words, he told us that both police officers said hello to the Congressman and when Fanone extended his hand, Rep Clyde looked down at Mike's hand and looked away almost immediately. Dunn's account of what happened next matched Fanone's (Fanone asked Clyde if he was going to shake his hand, Clyde said he did not know who he was, and Fanone introduced himself). As Mike was doing that, Clyde kept inching as close to the wall as he could, Dunn told Snopes. He was fidgeting with his phone and ... opened the video recorder mode and started to record. Mike and I looked at each other and shook our heads and we both said 'unbelievable.' Snopes contacted Clyde's office for his response to the accusations, but we have not heard back. (The congressman also did not respond to other news media, including The Washington Post, Business Insider, and CNN.) Nothing leads us to believe Fanone's story isn't accurate, and Dunn's corroboration as an eyewitness is enough to confirm the claim as true. The caveat, however, is that without the congressman's own explanation for his actions, all possible explanations for why he did not appear to accept Fanone's greeting are subjective. We only have Fanone's and Dunn's word for the claim that he was fully aware of the police officer's invitation to shake hands and consciously rejected it. It's possible that Clyde did not hear or understand Fanone's introduction, for whatever reasons. Perhaps he was wearing wireless headphones or another Bluetooth device that prevented him from hearing, for example. Our invitation to Clyde to tell his side of the story still stands.
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