On Friday, the eve of the anniversary of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, former Capitol police officer Harry Dunn launched a campaign in Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, joining a crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes.
Dunn, a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Capitol Police force, spent the months after the Capitol riot recounting his story from that day, when he was physically attacked by a vicious and racist mob.
Dunn said it was difficult to put on his police uniform after January 6 and head to the Capitol where he experienced trauma that still haunts him today. But that experience also served as one of his biggest motivators when he weighed whether to run for Congress.
"As a Capitol Police officer, I was very limited to what I can do, to what I can say, the criticisms of members who I protect, who I disagree with," Dunn said Thursday. "What more can I do that I haven’t done already as a police officer?" Dunn added later. "So now running gives me a seat at the table, where maybe now I’m just an annoying talking head, but now I’m their equal, I’m their colleague. And I have a voice, I have a vote, and I can’t be dismissed that way."