Harry Anthony Dunn (born September 25, 1983) is an American police officer and author. He has served in the United States Capitol Police since 2008. Dunn was one of many victims of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and testified with his colleagues in front of the House Select January 6 Committee in 2021. He has received the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Citizens Medal.
Early life and career
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. 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.
Dunn joined the United States Capitol Police in 2008. Since 2009, he has been a first responder providing security around the exterior of the United States Capitol a member of the Capitol Police Crisis Negotiation Team. 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.
January 6 attack
On the day of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Dunn was stationed outside the Capitol. 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.
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. 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 Aquillino 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 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, which resulted in the convictions of Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs.
Dunn was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. 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’s book, Standing My Ground, was published on October 24, 2023, by Hachette Books.
Personal life
Dunn has a daughter.