Capitol Cop Who Worked Jan. 6 Now Wants a Seat in Congress

For more than 15 years, Harry Dunn protected Congress as a Capitol police officer. "I did all that I can do in that role to protect, defend, and preserve democracy," he tells Politico. "But that is exhausted now." Dunn, among a handful of law enforcement officers who testified before the House select committee on Jan. 6 about the violence and racism he faced that day, resigned from the force last month. He now hopes to return to Congress to continue to defend democracy, just in a different way. On Friday, he announced a bid to represent Maryland's 3rd district in a seat vacated by retiring Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes.

"On January 6, I saw firsthand democracy under attack," Dunn, who was honored with the Presidential Citizens Medal, tells CNN. "It's no exaggeration to say we are one election away from the extinction of our democracy as we know it right now." The political newbie with a large social media following lives outside the district in Montgomery County, but says he spends a lot of time there and will move if elected, per the Hill. He says he'll run on a platform stressing gun reform, infrastructure, abortion rights, and public safety.

But he also cited former President Trump as a factor. "Trump said it himself that he is ready to be a dictator," he tells MSNBC. "A lot of his supporters will sit there and say, 'Oh he's just joking,' but how many times has he said the things that we thought were jokes that he actually did?" He tells CNN, "I wanna do everything in my power ... to fight back against him." Ultimately, "our democracy, our freedoms, and our sacred American values are on the line," Dunn adds in a statement, per USA Today. (More Congress stories.)