Why Harry Dunn, Who Defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, Is Running for Congress

Harry Dunn is not your typical Congressional candidate. On Jan. 6, 2021, he was one of the police officers who defended the Capitol against the violent insurrection of Trump supporters who wanted to overturn the Presidential election. Dunn, who had been on the Capitol Police force for more than a decade, endured physical attacks and racist vitriol as he defended the peaceful transition of power. He emerged as one of the leading advocates for accountability in the aftermath of the attack. When he testified in a Congressional hearing about what he and his fellow officers endured that day, his tearful account went viral. President Biden later awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest award a civilian can get.

Dunn is now running in a crowded Democratic primary to represent Maryland’s third congressional district. The pro-democracy message of his campaign reflects the nation’s broader grappling with the legacy of Jan. 6, especially with Trump running for President again. Even though Dunn has been endorsed by several high-profile Congressional democrats, the May 14 primary promises to be a tight race.

I spoke to Dunn back in February, when he opened up about the meaning of Jan. 6, why he thinks his emotional testimony went viral and what he thinks needs to change to save American democracy.

Tune in every Thursday, and join us as we continue to explore the minds that shape our world. You can listen to the full episode above, and below are a handful of excerpts from our conversation that have been condensed and edited for clarity.

On one of his proudest moments as a Capitol Police officer:

One of my proudest moments was after January 6th, and it was when the members of Congress went back to the Capitol in the night hours following the attack at the Capitol and certified the election. That gave me a great sense of pride in one, being an American, but also the pride of me and my coworkers— that we actually prevailed that day, no matter how ugly it was. The goal of a lot of individuals that day was to stop the certification of the election and they didn’t, due to several factors, but most of them being the heroic actions of my coworkers and myself. And that made me extremely proud because it came in the face of adversity. It was like triumph.

On how the events of Jan. 6, 2021 unfolded from his vantage point:

I’d seen chatter on Twitter or Instagram: ‘Hey, we’re storming the Capitol.’ And I had assumed that if that was a known possibility, there’s no way in the world that our department would not tell us or prepare us accordingly for that. However, we saw that that wasn’t true. I don’t think it’s some big conspiracy, or God, I hope not. I just think it was incompetence on somebody’s part that day. I don’t know who—like I said, I’m just a frontline officer like the other hundreds of officers that were there that day. But somebody, somewhere dropped the ball about the intelligence about what we could have faced that day. And that’s just the reality of it.

I mean, even on January 5th there were hundreds and hundreds of people outside the Capitol, outside the Supreme Court, doing all types of rallying and protest. And we heard that it was going to be even more people on the 6th. So driving into work on the 6th, we’re in the middle of COVID, you know, Washington D.C., the city, is shut down so to speak. So usually it’s an easy drive into work, no traffic. But on my ride in, in the morning, once I got into DC there were people walking around the streets. it was just different, like, ‘where are these people coming from?’ And they weren’t protesting, it was just a lot of people. And this is 6:30 in the morning. ‘What the heck are all these people doing?’

When we got to the Capitol there were a few people there, a handful of people, which is weird for that early in the morning. And as the day continued to grow, and the crowds continued to swell at the Capitol, I mean, every 5, 10 minutes, there was an update: ‘Hey, we have a group of 50 headed towards the Capitol from Union Station,’ or, ‘Hey, we have a group of a hundred headed towards the Capitol from the mall.’ It was just like, ‘what???’

And to be clear, everybody there wasn’t violent or uprising against the government. Everybody there wasn’t. But there were a lot of people who were. And not to mention, you know, the rhetoric that was spewed by the former president that day. He saw a vulnerable group of individuals who were just dying to be heard and he exploited them, you know. And here we are.

On why he decided to run for Congress:

I’m still trying to figure that out. Who in their right mind willingly goes and joins Congress, seeing all the dysfunction, right? That’s what you want, to run as far away as you can from it. But in all seriousness, if not me, then who? You know?

Do I just sit back and wait for somebody else to do it? And maybe they will. Maybe they will or maybe they won’t. But I do know that the fight that I’m willing to put up, that I have put up, I am capable of doing the job.

January 6th is the catalyst that made all of this happen. The run for Congress and the potential of being elected, that made it all happen. But one thing that has always existed pre and post January 6th is my love for this country. My love for public service and doing what’s right. And that along with the democratic values that I have, a common sense approach to things, I think will make me a very effective leader—representative—in Congress. And it’s not just January 6th. I care about common sense gun reform. I come from a family of women, four sisters and a daughter. I care for women’s rights and securing those. Voting rights, speaking up for marginalized communities, individuals as a Black man. Like I said earlier, I didn’t have negative experiences with the police but I know for so many individuals that couldn’t be further from the truth. And I acknowledge that. And just somebody that’s willing to listen and put other people above themselves is what I think that I can do better than a lot of other people, going forward.

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