CHICAGO — The Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol may be in the rearview for many Americans, but it’s remained a centerpiece of former President Donald Trump’s campaign — from his song with “the J6 choir” to him dubbing those federal convicts “hostages.”
And while the economy, immigration and war in the Middle East are also on the top of voter’s minds this cycle, some of the officers left scarred by the failed insurrectionists are combating Trump’s rhetoric by pounding the pavement in battleground states nationwide this election cycle.
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That includes one former officer who could soon find his way back to Congress — as an elected lawmaker.
“I've been out on the road for Vice President Harris, and I couldn't be happier,” former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn told Raw Story while trekking through the crowded Democratic National Convention arena in Chicago as delegates praised his service and stopped him for selfies.
Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn (center, standing) listens as Retired U.S. Capitol Police Officer Sgt. Aquilino Gonell speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Dunn was one of a handful of officers who garnered headlines for testifying in front of the 117th Congress about the brutality, racism and abuse law enforcement officials endured at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Earlier this year, Dunn lost a Democratic primary for an open Maryland congressional seat, but he says he feels at home in the party. Now, as a surrogate for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor, Dunn has already been to Michigan and Wisconsin, and he’ll be traveling to North Carolina soon.
Other officers left scarred in the aftermath of the attack are also speaking out this election cycle, including Daniel Hodges, Michael Fanone and Aquilino Gonell, who recounted to the delegates gathered in Chicago his story of being brutalized by a pole with an American flag still waving from the other end.
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As hard as it is to discuss trauma they endured that day, Dunn says there’s no quit in them.
“All the swing states. Us officers, we are out on the road,” Dunn said. “As long as Donald Trump is spewing lies about January 6, you're gonna find me and us pushing back against him.”
While the aren’t officially a part of the campaign, the Harris-Walz ticket covers Dunn’s travel expenses as he traverses the nation’s last remaining purple states between now and November.
“Do you worry about J6 being normalized?” Raw Story asked.
“Hell yeah. There's been no accountability for it, and the Supreme Court just basically just said ‘F— you, Donald Trump can do what he wants to do,’” Dunn said. “So what accountability? That's why on November 5th we have to get rid of them, because there's no more institutions left to save us. The calvary is the voters.”
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Dunn and the other officers have allies, especially those lawmakers who still carry the trauma of that day with them.
“Do you worry about Jan. 6 being normalized?” Raw Story asked. “Like, on the House side of the Capitol they’ve been using the committees to defend them.”
“Yeah, I know,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) told Raw Story at Chicago’s United Center. “It's weird. But at the end of the day, there's not much he can do unless he gets elected. And every day it looks less and less like he's going to get elected, and the more he says this crazy stuff, the less likely he makes it.”
Whitehouse says the worse Trump looks in the polls, the more he’s been reviving his rhetoric about hundreds of his supporters serving out January 6-related prison stints.
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“His grip on reality, I think, is slipping further, and what he knows is what he said before. And so as he flails around, he goes back to stuff that he said before, even if it makes no sense,” Whitehouse said. “He's not making sense right now. He's just singing familiar songs. It's like a ritual chanting. [Republicans] love their ritual chants.”
The attack on the Capitol has come up throughout the Democratic convention, but it proved to be a centerpiece of Wednesday night’s programming.
Convention-goers were shown video of officers being overwhelmed and assaulted at the Capitol before Gonell, a former Capitol Police sergeant, spoke on Capitol Police officer’s behalf.
Retired U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell arrives to speak on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
And some members of the select Jan. 6 committee were also given prime speaking slots, including its former chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS).
Thompson says Trump’s rhetoric is beyond troubling.
“That's one of the reasons we got to defeat him and not let him get back there,” Thompson told Raw Story while walking through the convention hall in Chicago. “Because that kind of behavior under him will become the norm and we could very well have a situation that's even worse.”
While these lawmakers and officers aren’t surprised Trump has tripled down on his J6 rhetoric this election, they’re also prepared to correct the record for the American people.
“That's who he is. That's why the choice for this election couldn’t be more clear,” Dunn said. “He’s already said he doesn't know if he's gonna accept the results of it, so he's already planting those seeds. He’s planting the seeds for Jan. 6 to happen again.”
“Harris, because she's VP, should she not certify it if he wins?” Raw Story asked.
“No. The Democrats, we follow the rules,” Dunn told Raw Story. “But we're not gonna speak that into existence. Kamala Harris is gonna win this thing. That’s it.”
