Harry Dunn, former Capitol Police officer, cites Jan. 6 in bid for Maryland House seat

A retired Capitol Hill police officer announced his bid for Congress on Friday, citing the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the need to stop “MAGA extremists.”

Harry Dunn, who testified before the Jan. 6 committee about his experience defending the Capitol, is joining a crowded Democratic primary field in Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District to replace outgoing Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD).

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“On January 6th, I defended our democracy from insurrectionists as a Capitol Police Officer. After, President Biden honored me with the Presidential Citizens Medal,” Dunn wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Today, I’m running for Congress to stop Trump’s MAGA extremists & ensure it never happens again.”

Sarbanes will have been in Washington for nine terms when he leaves Congress, which he said he is doing because he is drawn back to working “with nonprofits, volunteering and otherwise contributing to my community.”

Dunn’s campaign announcement for the safe Democratic Maryland seat comes days before the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The anniversary will be marked Friday in a Pennsylvania speech by President Joe Biden, who has made Jan. 6 and the fight for democracy a plank of his reelection campaign.

Dunn’s retirement from the Capitol Police and subsequent run for office weren’t necessarily expected, as he was regularly serving in the complex in the days ahead of the holiday break.

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While Democrats from Congress to the White House are using Jan. 6 as an argument going into 2024, former President Donald Trump is framing Biden as the true opponent to democracy.

In recent weeks, Trump and his campaign have declared Biden to be waging a war against democracy, particularly through what they’ve said are political indictments of an opponent. At a campaign event last month in Iowa, Trump said Biden is the “destroyer of American democracy” for weaponizing his administration against a political opponent.