Don Lemon Tears Up at Video of Attack on Police Officer Michael Fanone During Capitol Riot

CNN host Don Lemon became visibly emotional after the network aired footage of D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone being attacked on January 6.

The network broadcast exclusive video from the officer's body camera on Wednesday, which captured the moment he was tased and attacked during the riot at the Capitol.

He can be heard screaming and at one point saying: "I got kids."

After the video was broadcast, Lemon sat in silence for a moment.

He said he had not watched the footage in its entirety until then and wiped his eyes before expanding on his reaction.

Lemon criticized people who had downplayed the violence of January 6, and said: "That's the reality of what happened to Officer Michael Fanone that day. Dragged down the steps, tased with his own weapon, and then you heard him yelling 'I have kids,' which seemed to get through to some of the people in that crowd who gave him some protection.

"Knocked unconscious and when he came to, all he wanted to know was. 'Did we take the door back?'

"Referring to the struggle he was part of inside the tunnel, fighting alongside officers trying to stop insurrectionists from taking the Capitol.

"It's incredible.

"Hero, like I said."

The footage and Lemon's reaction can be seen below. Some people may find the video disturbing.

Though parts of the video are unclear, at one point a voice in the crowd can be heard saying, "Don't hurt him," and, "We're better than this," before Fanone mentions his children.

Mentioning his children appears to have given the rioters pause and provided Fanone with some brief protection, CNN reported in an article detailing the video.

However, Fanone said he was knocked unconscious during the incident.

Officers, including Fanone, had been tasked with protecting one of the entrances to the Capitol to hold off the rioters.

Towards the end of the video, Fanone's partner reaches him and says: "I got it. It's my partner."

When Fanone came to, he asked his fellow officer: "Did we take the door back?"

Fanone suffered a heart attack and a concussion on January 6.

He now has a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He spoke to Lemon about his experience in April.

"I experienced the most brutal, savage hand-to-hand combat of my entire life," Fanone said. "Let alone my policing career, which spans almost two decades. It was nothing that I had ever thought would be a part of my law enforcement career, nor was I prepared to experience."

Five people died during or shortly after the riot at the Capitol on January 6, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

The House and Senate were meeting to formalize the final stage of the 2020 presidential election by ratifying the votes of the Electoral College when the violence broke out.

The Capitol Building was breached by supporters of former President Donald Trump, who had gathered in Washington, D.C., that day for a rally. This came amid the president's baseless claims that widespread election fraud cost him the presidential election. There is no evidence of irregularities on a scale that could have changed the result.

The rioters were eventually expelled from the Capitol and the process to ratify the votes resumed later that day.