Former Capitol Police officer who defended lawmakers on Jan. 6, 2021, runs for Congress

WASHINGTON — Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who defended lawmakers nearly three years ago when rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, announced his campaign for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District Friday.

Dunn is running to succeed Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., who announced he would not seek re-election after serving in Congress for more than a decade.

“On January 6th, 2021, I did my duty as a police officer and as an American and defended our nation’s Capitol from violent insurrectionists. Today, I’m running for Congress because the forces that spurred that violent attack are still at work and as a patriotic American, it is my duty to defend our democracy,” Dunn said in a press release.

He added that he was raised in Maryland, where his parents taught him duty, honor and community and that this election cycle, “our democracy, our freedoms, and our sacred American values are on the line.”

“I’m determined to defend them in Congress,” said Dunn.

Dunn told the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, that he was the target of racial slurs and joined support groups after the attack to deal with the trauma of what had unfolded.

He resigned as a Capitol Police officer in December after serving for more than 15 years.

In an interview on “Morning Joe” Friday, the eve of the third anniversary of the riot, Dunn said the country is one election away from “the extinction of democracy as we know it.”

“Donald Trump said it himself, that he is ready to be a dictator, and you know 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 and took them seriously,” Dunn said.

He added that he wants to be able to fight back and push back against lawmakers in Congress, and serve as their equal and colleague.

“I want a voice at the table,” Dunn said. “And I’m ready for that challenge.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former Capitol Police officer who defended lawmakers on Jan. 6 runs for Congress