Some police officers from January 6 campaign for Biden

The Biden campaign team is enlisting the help of some police officers who clashed with rioters at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

The Biden campaign said in a statement that current or former officials include Harry Dunn, Aquilino Gonell and Danny Hodges. Michael Fanone was not named in the statement but appeared alongside Dunn at a campaign press conference Tuesday morning outside the New York courthouse where former President Donald Trump is on trial for falsifying business records.

The Jan. 6 officials will appear at campaign events in key swing states including Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and New Hampshire ahead of the first debate on June 27. The campaign announced Tuesday that Dunn and Gonell will hold events in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, on Wednesday.

According to the campaign, they will “underscore how Donald Trump has gone berserk since losing the 2020 election, including by making the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6 a ‘cornerstone’ of his campaign.”

The Trump team did not immediately respond to an email from Spectrum News seeking comment.

During their appearances on Jan. 6, officers will meet with local elected officials, law enforcement and community members to “raise the alarm about the threat Donald Trump poses to our democracy and the ongoing risk of political violence if Trump is elected to a second term,” the campaign said.

“Donald Trump and his inordinate pursuit of power and retribution pose an existential threat to our democracy,” Dunn said in a statement. “He continues to advocate political violence, going so far as to say there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses again and promising to be a dictator on ‘day one’ and pardon the Jan. 6 rioters. Donald Trump only cares about Donald Trump, which is why in November, Americans will reject his extremism once and for all and re-elect the only candidate in the race committed to protecting our democracy and standing up for law enforcement: Joe Biden.”

Trump made remarks during the campaign about a “bloodbath” while predicting the impact a Biden re-election would have on the American auto industry and immigration.

In July 2021, Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer, testified before the House investigative committee on January 6 that he had been subjected to racial slurs. He also said he was struggling with the mental health effects of the riots and was regularly attending therapy.

Dunn ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for a congressional seat in Maryland this year.

Fanone said at Tuesday’s campaign rally in New York that he was there “to remind Americans of what Donald Trump is capable of and the violence he unleashed against all Americans on January 6, 2021.”

Fanone named his attackers and described how Trump supporters held him down, beat him, took his badge and radio, and used a taser on him while parts of the crowd chanted for a man to kill Fanone with his own gun.

“All four of these individuals are avowed Trump supporters. All four of them have committed violent attacks on police,” Fanone said. “I am just one representative of the hundreds of police officers who were attacked that day by Donald Trump’s supporters, inspired by his defeat – the lies that to this day incite my fellow Americans to turn against their fellow Americans, to turn against police officers.”

Hodges, a Metropolitan Police officer, described to Congress how he was foaming at the mouth, bleeding and screaming as rioters tried to gouge out his eye and crush him between two heavy doors on January 6.

Gonnell, a former Capitol Police sergeant, suffered injuries to both hands, left shoulder, left calf and right foot and required two surgeries.

Ahead of the June 27 presidential debate, police officers who were attacked and injured on January 6, 2021, will campaign for President Biden in key swing states such as Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and New Hampshire. The officers, including Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, Officer Harry Dunn and Officer Daniel “Danny” Hodges, will underscore how Donald Trump went berserk after losing the 2020 election. Among other things, they will make the violent January 6 attack on the Capitol a “cornerstone” of his 2024 campaign, promise to be a dictator from “day one” if elected, say there will be a “bloodbath” if he loses again and promise to pardon the January 6 rioters. Officers will meet with local elected officials, law enforcement and community members to raise the alarm about the threat Donald Trump poses to our democracy and the ongoing threat of political violence during a second Trump term.

This tour comes on the heels of Biden and Harris’ new TV commercial, “Snapped,” featuring two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro, which highlights what is at stake for our democracy in the 2024 election.

The following is a statement from former US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn:

“Donald Trump and his inordinate pursuit of power and vengeance pose an existential threat to our democracy. He continues to advocate political violence, going so far as to predict that there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses again. He promises to be a dictator on ‘day one’ and to pardon the January 6 rioters. Donald Trump only cares about Donald Trump, and that is why in November, Americans will reject his extremism once and for all and re-elect the only candidate in the race committed to protecting our democracy and standing up for law enforcement: Joe Biden.”