Capitol Police Officer Was ‘Absolutely Scared' as Rioters Called Him N-Word, Beat Cops With Blue Lives Matter Flags

Trace William Cowen
·2 min read

Image via Getty/Brent Stirton

Harry Dunn, a 13-year veteran of the Capitol Police Department, became the first officer to speak publicly about the fatal Jan. 6 riot on Monday.

In an interview with Pierre Thomas for ABC News, Dunn said riot participants—who had descended on the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an effort to prevent the certification of Biden’s presidential election win—used racial slurs and had him fearing for his life.

“’I got called a [N-word] a couple dozen times today protecting this building,’” Dunn said when recounting what he told a fellow officer that day. “Is this America? They beat police officers with Blue Lives Matter flags. They fought us, they had Confederate flags in the U.S. Capitol.”

Later, Dunn went into detail about his thoughts on that fateful day

“I was scared,” he said. “I was absolutely scared. I’m on this platform and I’m a big guy. I’m 6 foot 7. I’m this giant person and we had our guns out and I’m thinking, all these people out there, they’re armed too. And I’m like, ‘I’m gonna get shot. They gon’ take me out.’ I remember at one point I said ‘How is this gonna end?’”

The Trump-supporting rioters, Dunn added, were “terrorists” with the goal of disrupting democracy.

“And you know what?” he said on Monday. “Y’all failed because later that night, they went on and they certified the election.”

Last week, the U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee—which reps thousands of Capitol officers—announced that an overwhelming majority of officers had cast a “no confidence” vote regarding Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman. 35 officers, per Monday’s report, are being investigated by the Capitol Police Office of Professional Responsibility. Several, meanwhile, have been suspended without pay.

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