On the fifth anniversary of January 6, a date now fixed in the American conscience, former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn returned to the moment that altered his life and the nation’s course.
Appearing on Black Press USA’s “Let It Be Known,” Dunn spoke about the unforgettable day that’s shaped by time, pain, and resolve, revisiting what he has called the worst day of his life.
Dunn joined the United States Capitol Police in 2008 and has served as a Private First Class since 2011. His career placed him on duty for presidential inaugurations, joint sessions of Congress, State of the Union addresses, and hundreds of peaceful protests. As a Crisis Intervention Officer on the USCP Crisis Negotiation Team, he was trained for hostage situations, barricades, and mental health emergencies.
However, he said, none of that training prepared him for January 6, 2021.
“I lived the worst day of my life on national TV,” Dunn said.
Five years later, Dunn shared something that has taken a while to say.
“I’ve healed from that trauma,” he said, referring to his personal wounds from that day.
The healing, which he made clear, did not mean forgetting. Dunn said it is possible to recover personally while remaining troubled by what continues to unfold in the country.
“As we look around at the things that are going on,” he said, “it’s hard to be okay with everything. If you’re okay right now, I feel like you’re kind of like a callous soul.”
Remembering the Fateful Day, the Scars that Still Sting
Dunn recalled how rioters filmed themselves, how juries later watched those same videos in court, and how the attackers felt emboldened. He said they told officers repeatedly that the president had sent them.
“They were telling us, ‘The president said we could,’” Dunn said.
He addressed comparisons often drawn between January 6 and Black Lives Matter protests. Dunn said Black Lives Matter demonstrators came to the Capitol, protested, shouted, and left.
“They didn’t storm the Capitol,” he said. “Every single person went home that night. I can’t say the same thing about January 6.”
He spoke of officers who died and of others who later took their own lives. He said attempts to equate the events ignore those losses.
In 2023, he was honored by former President Joe Biden for his heroism. During the event, Biden shared words on behalf of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who was undergoing cancer treatment, lauding his bravery.
“‘Officer Harry Dunn acted with remarkable courage and valor to defend both our institutions and our people,’” Biden said, quoting Raskin. “He went on to say, ‘Generations to come will think of him and these officers and thank them for their service.’”
After watching what’s unfolded since then, Dunn said January 6 laid the groundwork for what is happening today— from threats against other nations to the erosion of democratic norms. He said Americans were warned in advance.
“He told us what he was going to do,” Dunn said. “And when he did it, people acted surprised.”
Dunn said he was also not shocked when President Donald Trump pardoned those who stormed the Capitol last January.
“I knew it was coming,” Dunn said. “So, I had time to prepare.”
Preparation meant action. Dunn said he worked as a surrogate for former Vice President Kamala Harris during the Harris–Walz campaign, trying to stop Trump’s return to office. When that effort failed, he said the pain was not sudden. It was familiar.
“The wounds were already there,” Dunn said. “I just had time to brace for it.”
The cost, he said, remains deeply personal. Dunn described election night as feeling like a knife through his heart, saying it was difficult to accept that many voters returned to power a man he holds responsible for one of the darkest days in U.S. history.
Dunn rejected calls to move on from January 6, saying the record remains unsettled.
“History bends toward distortion when accountability is denied,” he said. “A hundred years from now, somebody is going to read about January 6 and read that he was elected again and ask, ‘How could that happen?’”
Working Toward Change
Over the years, Dunn has been lauded for his bravery and continued freedom fighting since the fateful day in 2021.
“I was proud to stand beside Officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges to lift up their stories from January 6, when they were beaten and assaulted by a mob incited by Donald Trump,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) said in a statement last January. “Trump can try to whitewash what happened that day, but these brave officers are constant reminders of his betrayal of law enforcement and America.”
Although Dunn noted January 6 made him known to much of the world, it did not define the limits of his responsibility. He said he remains focused on what he can change and where his voice still matters.
Dunn also discussed his New York Times bestselling memoir, “Standing My Ground: A Capitol Police Officer’s Fight for Accountability and Good Trouble After January 6th,” which he said was part of his healing.
“Where does it end?” Dunn said. “The story is still being written. You can add to it, but you can’t take away from it.”
The Capitol officer turned author said he continues to receive hateful messages and death threats, including in recent weeks. He said he takes precautions, leans on his community, and keeps showing up.
“That means I’m doing something right,” he said.
Now, he speaks across the country about resilience, rejecting easy assurances.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be okay,” Dunn said. “But I do know if we don’t fight, if we don’t show up, they’re going to steamroll us.”
He paused, then offered what he could promise.
“If we show up,” Dunn continued, “we give ourselves a fighting chance.”