US Capitol Police Officer on Duty on Jan. 6 Announces Run for Congress

U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn testifies during a opening hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, in Washington, on July 27, 2021. Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

A former U.S. Capitol Police officer who was on duty on Jan. 6, 2021, is running for a U.S. House of Representatives seat that will soon become vacant, he announced on Jan. 5.

Harry Dunn, the ex-officer, is joining the race for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, even though he doesn’t live there.

Mr. Dunn helped “expel insurrectionists” at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, he told lawmakers in public testimony, including striking one that appeared prepared to move past him.

“One of the invaders approached me like he was going to try to get past me and head down the stairs. I hit him, knocking him down,” he said at the time.

The black man said he was racially taunted and suffered emotional trauma.

Mr. Dunn said in a campaign video that he left the police force recently in order to run for Congress and try to prevent a reprise of the Jan. 6 riot.

“I’m here to announce my candidacy, to fight back and be able to push back against the people in Congress right now that I spent the last 15 years of my life protecting,” Mr. Dunn added on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And I want to serve as their equal, as their colleague. I want a voice at the table and I’m ready for that challenge.”

Mr. Dunn has frequently criticized former President Donald Trump and said joining Congress would help him hold President Trump accountable.

President Joe Biden awarded Mr. Dunn and some other officers the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2023. He called them “heroic law enforcement officers.” Mr. Dunn also received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2022.

Maryland’s 3rd District is currently represented by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), who announced in the fall of 2023 that he would be stepping down at the end of his current term to return to the nonprofit sector.

Mr. Sarbanes, 61, has served in the seat since 2007.

Doesn’t Live in the District

The 3rd District includes all of Howard County and parts of two adjacent counties, Carroll County and Anne Arundel County. It sits to the south and west of Baltimore and covers about 777,000 people.

Mr. Dunn told news outlets that he does not currently reside in the district—he lives in Montgomery County—but that he would move there if he wins the race.

“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,” Mr. Dunn told The Hill.

That fact could draw criticism from the crowded field that has developed in the wake of the announcement from Mr. Sarbanes.

Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) speaks as activists rally against the legislative filibuster outside of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 24, 2021. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

State Del. Mark Chang, state Sen. Sarah Elfreth, and state Sen. Clarence Lam are among those who have declared for the Democrat primary. Mr. Dunn is running as a Democrat.

The Democrat primary is slated to take place on May 14.

Several Republicans, including retired Army officer Berney Flowers, have also declared, though the seat is rated as solid or safe Democrat by political handicappers. Mr. Sarbanes won re-election in 2022 with 60 percent of the vote, and the district has not been represented by a Republican since 1927.

Shifting Story

Mr. Dunn’s announcement comes after he offered testimony in a trial that changed from when he spoke to FBI agents following the events of Jan. 6.

Mr. Dunn told agents he was trying to calm down members of the Oath Keepers, a group of former and current military and law enforcement members, by allowing them to stand in front of him, according to a summary of the interview obtained by The Epoch Times.

But he said during a trial of a Jan. 6 defendant in 2022 that he was “not calming them down.”

Mr. Dunn also told agents the move was aimed at preventing protesters from getting down a set of stairs but when a defense attorney asked him about that, Mr. Dunn said that was “not correct.”

Mr. Dunn’s testimony about his interactions with another officer was also contradicted by an account from that officer.

The discrepancies led defendants to accuse Mr. Dunn and the other officer of committing perjury.

Mr. Dunn’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Also on Friday, the nonprofit Judicial Watch lodged a wrongful death lawsuit over the killing of Ashli Babbitt by Michael Byrd, another Capitol Police officer. The suit says Mr. Byrd did not properly assess the threat posed by people who entered the Capitol, negligently describing them all as an “imminent danger” to members.

The suit is seeking $30 million.

Mr. Byrd’s lawyer and the U.S. Capitol Police did not respond to requests for comment.

Joseph M. Hanneman contributed to this report.