Former Capitol Police Officer Running For Congress Warns Jan. 6 ‘Can Happen Again’

WASHINGTON ― Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn says the danger of another Jan. 6-type event occurring is very real, and that is why he has been compelled to trade in his uniform and run for Congress.

“It exposed how fragile this democracy is, how willing elected officials in the MAGA world are to lie, downplay and pretend what we went through wasn’t actual,” Dunn informed HuffPost in an interview on Monday after the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, revolt on the U.S. Capitol.

“Frankly, I believe it can happen again,” he warned.

Dunn, 40, introduced his candidacy over the weekend after leaving the Capitol police power late final yr, ending a 15-year profession defending Congress, together with from a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters that hurled racist slurs at him throughout the Jan. 6 revolt.

Dunn mirrored on having to guard Republican members of Congress who’ve dismissed the Jan. 6 assault as a hoax, saying that though it was “tough personally,” it didn’t cease him from doing his responsibility.

“Whether they believe it or not, they have a right to believe it. It was my job to protect them,” Dunn mentioned.

He added that “having a seat at the table” in Congress would imply that he “can’t be dismissed as just an angry police officer” and that these nonetheless pushing Trump’s “big lie” a few stolen election couldn’t simply low cost him within the hallways.

Conspiracy theories about Jan. 6 stay prevalent within the Republican Party greater than three years after the assault, with GOP lawmakers and even some presidential contenders falsely calling the riot an “inside job.” A latest Washington Post-University of Maryland ballot additionally discovered that 34% of Republicans imagine the FBI was by some means in on the revolt, regardless of testimony from FBI Director Chris Wray saying in any other case.

Over the weekend, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a member of House GOP management, even referred to individuals who have been convicted of prices regarding Jan. 6 as “hostages,” echoing Trump’s rhetoric in defending those that stormed the Capitol constructing whereas Congress met to certify the Electoral College rely.

“It’s par for the course. I’m not surprised she said it because Donald Trump said it,” Dunn mentioned in response to Stefanik’s feedback.

Dunn is operating within the crowded main to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes. The winner of the first can be the favourite to clinch election within the closely Democratic district.

In his announcement video, which contains a reenactment of Jan. 6 with a “Make America great again” flag within the background, Dunn vowed to stop a Jan. 6-like assault from taking place once more.

“We can’t ever let this happen again, and you’ve heard it from Trump himself: He is hellbent on finishing what he started this day,” Dunn says within the video. “I believe every one of us has a role to play in this fight.”