Former Capitol Police officer warns that ‘nothing is preventing’ another Jan. 6

(The Hill) — Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn warned that “nothing is preventing” another Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol since there has not been accountability “at the highest level.” 

“Accountability serves two purposes,” Dunn, who testified before the House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, said during his Saturday appearance on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.” 

“It brings some type of restitution or healing to those that were aggrieved and also it provides a deterrent to keep things from happening again,” he said. “Accountability has not been had at the highest level of January 6. So there is nothing preventing January 6 from happening again.” 

Dunn stated that “democracy” is the “bigger” issue at hand compared to other big-ticket issues in the 2024 election, arguing that former President Trump’s potential return to the Oval Office would nullify any policy goals Democrats hope to achieve. 

“Democracy is the bigger issue here,” said Dunn, a candidate for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional seat. “It’s so many things that are at stake right now. Like, we’ve talked about, women’s reproductive rights and gun safety, lower price, health, all that stuff doesn’t matter if we have a dictator in the White House that could do whatever he wants to do.”  

“So all of those issues that we talked about that Democrats are fighting hard for those won’t even be an issue if we have a dictator in the White House.” 

Dunn recounted him witnessing police officers getting attacked during the Jan. 6 riot during his testimony. 

He is running in the Democratic primary, hoping to replace retiring Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.). He earned some high-profile endorsements from House Democrats in February, getting a boost from Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas).