After his shift, Hodges said the Harris rally was much less eventful than his day on Jan. 6, when he was attacked by members of the mob who – even this week – are still being convicted of their crimes against him.

While Hodges spent Jan. 6 fighting a pro-Trump mob in the lower West Tunnel, he didn't see much action after Harris' speech. “I had District Taco today; “That was nice,” he joked. “I didn’t do that on the 6th.”

Harris spoke about Jan. 6 in her speech, referencing the injured officers. One of the opening statements was given by Craig Sicknick, the brother of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who died the day after the attack on the Capitol.

“My family knows how dangerous Trump is. He incited the crowd to riot while my brother and his colleagues put their lives at risk,” Sicknick told the crowd. “Now Mr. Trump is promising to pardon the convicted criminals who attacked our Capitol, killed my brother, and injured over 140 other officers. That is simply wrong. We need a real leader, and Kamala Harris is that leader.”

Sicknick died of natural causes on January 7 after suffering two strokes, but a medical examiner said the events of January 6 played a role in his death. Sicknick was attacked with a chemical irritant, and a Trump supporter is serving a six-year prison sentence for the attack.

“I'm fed up with Trump's politics of chaos, anger and hate. It has real and dangerous consequences for all of us. It’s time to turn the page and elect Kamala as our president,” said Craig Sicknick. “And Brian, we miss you every day.”

While Harris and Craig Sicknick spoke, the former Capitol Police sergeant was in the crowd. Aquilino Gonell, who retired after the attack in which he was attacked multiple times and left bleeding.

Gonell told NBC News that “the whole atmosphere was very different than it was on January 6, 2021.”

“I was very emotional, especially when Brian Sicknick's brother spoke. I shed a few tears just because I know what it means,” Gonell said. “I just hope that Brian's sacrifices were not in vain, that his sacrifice means something, not just to his family and myself, but to the nation. Brian would have been here with us, he would not have died if it had not been for Donald Trump and his allies.”

Gonell, who also campaigned for Harris, said her speech was positive. “It wasn't about retaliation, it wasn't about undermining our democracy, it was about being hopeful,” he said.

Gonell, a military veteran and immigrant who long ago received his citizenship, noted that his wife is now an American citizen. She will cast her first vote this year in hopes of defeating Trump.

“I hope that people realize that we should not accept political violence,” Gonell said. “We should not accept what Donald Trump did on January 6th.”