Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who testified to Congress’s Jan. 6 Committee, announced his electoral bid for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District on Twitter Friday.
Dunn, who was on duty during the Capitol riot, entered the public eye when he told Congress he witnessed violence and heard racial slurs during the incident, The Hill reported. Dunn’s first campaign video shows Dunn walking through a dramatized reenactment of Jan. 6 as he announces his run for Congress, featuring rioters stomping around while throwing papers and waving flags.
“On January 6th, I defended our democracy from insurrectionists as a Capitol Police Officer,” Dunn wrote in his Twitter announcement. “After, President Biden honored me with the Presidential Citizens Medal. Today, I’m running for Congress to stop Trump’s MAGA extremists & ensure it never happens again.”
Dunn previously said “the thing that happened on Jan. 6, and everything that’s happened after pushed me and launched me into this space now,” referring to his testimony to Congress’s Jan. 6 Committee about what he witnessed during the Jan. 6 protests, according to The Hill. Dunn told “Morning Joe” that Jan. 6 “exposed how weak and fragile” American democracy is, ABC News reported.
Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn announces his candidacy for Congress in Maryland’s 3rd district
The mail in ballots are already being prepared for a 4am dump to take him to victory pic.twitter.com/BE1mf6cFZn
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) January 5, 2024
Dunn does not currently live in Maryland’s 3rd District, residing in Montgomery County instead, according to CQ Roll Call. Dunn said he would move into the district if elected, The Hill reported.
“I’ve interacted with a lot of the citizens of that district — I spend a lot of my time in the district, I go grocery shopping, and I go to the gym there,” Dunn told the outlet. (RELATED: Historians Reportedly Push Biden To Get Aggressive. His Campaign Releases Ad Equating Trump Supporters To Extremists)
The former Capitol police officer said issues surrounding American democracy, including abortion, gun control and healthcare, are the most crucial in 2024, the outlet reported.
“One of the things that I’m really happy about that a lot of Democrats, including the individuals in the field, are united on is the need to preserve a woman’s choice. The need to expand and protect voting rights, for common sense gun reform, to make health care more affordable for the people of the state of Maryland,” Dunn said. “I think we’re all in agreement on that. And my thought, though, is that all of those things fall under the umbrella of democracy.”
Dunn said he is a “career public servant,” stating that the heavily Democratic district should not be represented by a “career politician,” the outlet reported. He is challenged by other candidates including Delegates Mark Chang, Vanessa Atterbeary, Terri Hil and Mike Rogers, and state Sens. Sarah Elfreth and Clarence Lam.