Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn Founds PAC After Losing Election to House of Representatives

Harry Dunn, the former Capitol Police officer who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 and ran unsuccessfully for a House seat in Maryland last month, is launching a new PAC to support candidates running against pro-Trump Republicans.

The group will be called Dunn’s Democracy Defenders, and its goal is to stop former President Donald Trump and what Dunn calls “MAGA extremists” in the Republican Party from winning this fall’s election. Dunn plans to use the group to support candidates on every ballot, using his personal story and fundraising skills to help target elections.

“The first thing I had to decide if I wanted to run for office was why: why am I doing this, why am I running?” Dunn said in an interview with NBC News on Tuesday before announcing his plans on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday morning.

“My reason is to do everything I can to protect the institution of Congress, to fight against Donald Trump, to defend our Constitution and our democracy,” Dunn continued. “Even though I didn’t get elected, there is definitely room for me to keep fighting.”

The group will inherit the money left over from Dunn’s campaign, but how much will not be clear until the post-primary fundraising reports are released this summer.

Dunn, who has worked for the Capitol Police for 15 years, says the mob yelled racist abuse and attacked him on Jan. 6. He testified about his experiences before the House committee investigating the attack and at the trial of members of the far-right Oath Keepers on charges of seditious conspiracy.

With that in mind, Dunn decided to run for Congress in Maryland this year. Despite his national recognition, the support of prominent members of Congress and significant fundraising, the political newcomer lost to Democratic Senator Sarah Elfreth. Elfreth highlighted her legislative record and received support from an outside group close to the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

In his first attempt at political office, Dunn raised more than $4.5 million in less than six months, putting him among the 30 candidates who have raised the most money this election cycle – including incumbents who have been raising money for their re-election since January 2023. That gives Dunn a strong financial platform for his new group.

Dunn said he has no financial goal in mind and the group’s plans will depend on what the candidates he supports ask of him. But after his primary, he said he wants to support Democrats who believe corporate money has no place in politics.

“It was no secret that I was a very successful fundraiser – all that led to it was my story and my message and my desire to, one, stop the MAGA Republicans and, two, keep dark money and MAGA money, these corporate PACs, out of free and fair elections. It’s a simple story and it resonates with a lot of people,” he said.

Dunn is also taking a more visible role in supporting President Joe Biden’s re-election – joining former police colleagues who also defended the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and are now supporting the Biden campaign.

When asked if the group could support moderate Republicans to oppose Trump-supporting Republicans, Dunn said he would not take that idea off the table – but he does not see “any Republicans on the other side of the aisle standing up to Donald Trump, it’s as if they no longer exist.”

“Donald Trump has proxies, people in the Republican Party who want nothing more than to downplay, whitewash, trivialize and outright lie about what happened that day,” Dunn said of the Jan. 6 attack.

“It’s not just ordinary American citizens. It’s elected officials who whitewash and gloss over things like this. That’s why it’s so important that we never stop telling our story,” Dunn said.

He added that while he does not have any particular office in mind for a possible future candidacy, he would not rule out running again.