Robert De Niro, Former Capitol Police Officers Slam Trump Outside His Criminal Trial

Actor Robert De Niro and two former Capitol Police officers on Tuesday spoke outside of Donald Trumps criminal trial in New York City, condemning the former president and warning of the grave danger he poses to the country if he wins election in November.

I love this city, De Niro said during a press conference organized by Joe Biden s presidential campaign. Donald Trump wants to destroy not only this city but the country, and eventually he could destroy the world.

Americans bought into his bullshit in 2016, he fumed, and Trump bought their votes with outrageous lies and empty promises. Worse, continued the actor, Trump got self-styled patriots to support a man who called for terminating the Constitution, and on Jan. 6, rallied an angry mob to threaten democracy, leaving death and destruction in his wake.

This is why I needed to be involved, and wanted to be involved, in the new Biden-Harris ad, said De Niro, referring to a new Biden campaign ad he narrated. Because it shows the violence of Trump, and reminds that us hell use violence against anyone who stands in the way of his megalomania and greed.

He said the two former Capitol Police officers standing behind him, Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, are true heroes who fought to defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump incited an insurrection by a mob of his supporters.

In brief remarks, Fanone describe being assaulted by four separate Trump supporters on Jan. 6 who have since been arrested and admitted to violently assaulting him and other police officers that day.

While being restrained by a violent mob, I was beaten. An individual tried to strip me of my gun, while chants of kill him with his own gun were echoed by the crowd, said Fanone, in moments becoming emotional. Im just one representative of hundreds of police officers assaulted by Trump supporters, inspired by his lies.

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Dunn warned that Trump is the greatest threat to our democracy.

Americans need to wake up, he said. This is not a drill.

CORRECTION: This story previously misattributed a quote to Robert De Niro that was by Biden campaign spokesman Michael Tyler.