Officer Harry Dunn testified July 27 before the House select committee appointed to investigate the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He was one of four members of the Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Capitol Police who testified about the violence and fear they experienced that day, and how the attack has continued to affect them.
Dunn , who is Black, recounted being the target of racial slurs, including being called the “n-word” by multiple attackers. He said fellow Black officers experienced similar racist attacks when responding to the insurrection. “More than six months later, Jan. 6 still isn’t over for me,” said Dunn, who said he had to seek professional counseling to deal with the emotional and mental trauma of responding to the insurrection. He encouraged his fellow officers to seek help as well, and asked the House committee to consider whether counseling services provided to officers dealing with such events are sufficient.
“We can never again allow democracy to be put in peril as it was on Jan. 6,” Dunn said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised the committee will “get to the truth” of what happened during the storming of the Capitol, which killed at least five people, and followed a rally where former President Donald Trump repeated false claims of voter fraud and a stolen election as he urged crowds protesting the results of the election to head to the Capitol to take a stand against “this egregious assault on our democracy.” The committee includes seven Democrats and two Republicans, appointed by Pelosi. Republicans, who have been wary of crossing former President Donald Trump, have criticized the process. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently withdrew the names of five GOP appointees after Pelosi rejected the participation of two of them.
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