Harry Dunn (police officer)

If elected, Dunn would be the second Capitol Police officer elected to Congress after Harry Reid's initial election to Nevada's 1st congressional district in 1982.

During the Democratic primary, Dunn plans to campaign on a platform involving democracy-related issues, abortion, infrastructure, health care laws, and gun reform.

He also expressed support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war and for a bill to provide $74 billion in funding to Ukraine, Gaza, and Israel.

Harry Anthony Dunn (born September 25, 1983) is an American author, political candidate, and former police officer.

He was a member of the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA national champions.

Dunn graduated from James Madison in 2005.

After he graduated, Dunn signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, but he was released during training camp.

He served in the United States Capitol Police from 2008 to 2023.

Dunn was one of many police officers present during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, and testified with his colleagues in front of the House Select Committee investigating the attack.

His efforts during the attack earned him both the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Citizens Medal.

Dunn attended Surrattsville High School in Clinton, Maryland, and played as an offensive lineman on the school's football team.

He attended James Madison University, where he studied public health and played college football for the James Madison Dukes.

Dunn joined the United States Capitol Police in 2008.

From 2009 to 2023, he worked as a first responder providing security around the exterior of the United States Capitol and as a member of the Capitol Police Crisis Negotiation Team.

Dunn married Danyel Moncree on June 11, 2009.

They have a daughter and currently live in Montgomery County, Maryland.

He has pledged to move to somewhere within Maryland's 3rd congressional district if elected to Congress.

He was commissioned as an officer as a private first class in 2011.

In November 2021, Dunn ran against Gus Papathanasiou in an election to chair the U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee.

Papathanasiou defeated Dunn in a secret ballot.

On the day of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Dunn was stationed outside the Capitol.

After the Capitol was breached, he was called inside to guard a stairwell with injured officers and to guard Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office.

He interacted with rioters, many carrying Make America Great Again and Confederate flags, and members of the Oath Keepers, including Kelly Meggs.

Dunn said that by the end of the day, his fists were bloody from fighting with rioters.

Dunn, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, and Gladys Sicknick, the mother of Brian Sicknick, advocated for the creation of a January 6 commission, to investigate the attack in a method similar to the 9/11 Commission in meetings with U.S. Senators of the Republican Party.

He was in attendance when the U.S. House approved the formation of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.

He testified to the committee alongside Fanone, Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, and D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges in its preliminary hearing on July 27, 2021.

In his testimony, Dunn said that rioters called him a "nigger" during the attack and that he has attended psychotherapy and engaged in peer support to help him process the trauma he experienced.

The four officers were given a front-row seat to all of the committee's public hearings in 2022.

Dunn has stated his belief that Donald Trump should be arrested for his conduct preceding the riot.

Dunn testified in the 2022 trial of the Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy for their actions relating to the Capitol attack.

Though they claimed that they were trying to assist the officers during the attack, Dunn refuted their claims.

The trial resulted in the convictions of Meggs and Stewart Rhodes.

Along with other officers who protected the Capitol during the attack, Dunn was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on December 6, 2022.

On January 6, 2023, President Biden awarded Dunn with the Presidential Citizens Medal.

The county council of Montgomery County presented him with a citation in June 2023.

Dunn wrote a memoir, titled Standing My Ground, which was published on October 24, 2023, by Hachette Books.

He resigned from the Capitol Police on December 17, 2023.

In October 2023, after U.S. Representative John Sarbanes announced that he would not run for re-election in 2024, Dunn expressed interest in a potential run for his seat in Maryland's 3rd congressional district.

He officially entered the race on January 5, 2024, running in a crowded Democratic primary field that includes five state legislators—Mark S. Chang, Sarah Elfreth, Terri L. Hill, Clarence Lam, and Mike Rogers.