Harry Dunn was guarding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He previously ran for Congress in a nearby Maryland district in 2024.
WASHINGTON — A former police officer who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 announced he was running to replace Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Wednesday.
Harry Dunn announced his run for Congress in an Instagram video, where he compares President Donald Trump administration officials and their immigration policies to the mentality and disposition of Jan. 6 rioters.
“Lawlessness isn’t always a mob. Now, it comes with a title, a budget, a badge, a weapon and lies behind the podium,” Dunn said in the social media video, as images of White House Border Czar Tom Homan, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Border Patrol Commander-At-Large Gregory Bovino, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Trump flash on the screen. “I see the same aggression in ICE agents that I saw in Jan. 6 insurrectionists.”
Dunn called Trump a “wannabe dictator” while on a Zoom call with WUSA9’s Alexis Wainwright on Wednesday,
“All roads lead back to Donald Trump and Congress’ failure to hold him accountable — whether it be tariffs or healthcare,” Dunn said.
Hoyer, who has served Maryland’s fifth congressional district since 1981 — the longest tenure out of any current member of the Democratic caucus — announced he would retire at the end of his 23rd term in office, January 2027.
Prominent shoes to fill for any successor. During his time in office, Hoyer served as the House Majority Leader twice.
Even though Dunn retired from the U.S. Capitol Police force in 2023, the former law enforcement officer has remained a fixture on The Hill, attending political rallies and sitting in on congressional hearings related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks.
In January, Dunn could be seen in the gallery as former Special Counsel Jack Smith testified to the House Oversight Committee about his investigations into Donald Trump and the president’s conduct on Jan. 6.
This election cycle would be Dunn’s second try at a run for Congress. He ran in a 2024 Democratic primary for the nearby third congressional district. Dunn lost that race to Sarah Elfreth, who now serves that seat in the U.S. House.
Although Dunn was born and grew up inside the fifth district, the Democratic candidate currently lives outside its boundaries, in Montgomery County. However, Dunn argued that the distinction doesn’t make much of a difference, especially within the context of a mid-decade proposal to redraw Maryland’s congressional map.
“These lines that are being drawn do not protect people from Donald Trump,” Dunn said on Wednesday. Dunn added that he would move to the fifth district, if elected. He made a similar pledge in 2024.
Dunn was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2023, the second-highest civilian honor, which was presented to him by former President Joe Biden.
“I once told Congress, ‘I did my job, now you do yours,'” Dunn says in his announcement video posted Wednesday. “Well, I’m done waiting.”
Dunn will face a crowded field for the Democratic nomination to replace Hoyer, including established Maryland politicians Del. Adrian Boafo and Prince George’s County Councilmember Wala Blegay. Although Dunn told WUSA9 that he believed his outsider status was an asset.
“I’m not a career politician, I’m a public servant,” Dunn said. “I’m a fighter, and I’ve shown that by continuing to show up not just on Jan. 6, but every single day after.”
Hoyer endorsed Boafo as his successor shortly after the state delegate announced his run in January.
The fifth congressional district comprises all of Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert counties in Southern Maryland, as well as parts of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties.