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Mr. Dunn, who rose to prominence for defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, will run for a hotly contested Southern Maryland seat.

Harry Dunn came in second out of 22 candidates in the Democratic primary for a different Maryland district two years ago.Credit...Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Feb. 4, 2026, 6:00 a.m. ET

Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer who rose to prominence for his defense of the Capitol during the riot of Jan. 6, 2021, said he had been undecided about whether he should attempt a second run for Congress after a failed bid two years ago.

But as he sat in the audience last month at a congressional hearing where a Republican lawmaker called him out by name and attempted to blame Capitol Police for the pro-Trump riot that engulfed the seat of Congress, Mr. Dunn said he knew he had to try.

“That’s one of the things that pushed me to run,” Mr. Dunn said in an interview. “I should have been sitting up there on that dais with him. I could have been like, ‘Absolutely not. Don’t you talk at me.’ Now I get to say something back.”

Mr. Dunn, 42, announced on Wednesday that he would run for the Southern Maryland congressional seat currently held by Representative Steny H. Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat and longtime party leader who is retiring after decades in Congress.

It will be Mr. Dunn’s second entry into a crowded Democratic primary. He finished second out of 22 candidates in the Democratic primary in a different Maryland district two years ago, losing to Representative Sarah K. Elfreth, who received more than $4 million from the pro-Israel group AIPAC.

Mr. Dunn again faces many competitors, with 11 Democrats already registered to run for the seat and several state lawmakers considering joining the race.

Whoever emerges from the Democratic primary would likely be a heavy favorite to win the general election for the seat in Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District.

Mr. Dunn was a member of the Capitol Police for 15 years and was one of four officers who testified at the first public hearing of the House committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol. He described how fellow officers were bloodied in the battle and how rioters used racist slurs against him.

In a video accompanying his announcement on Wednesday, Mr. Dunn’s campaign displayed images of the violence of Jan. 6 as he promised to fight the Trump administration if he is elected.

“Donald Trump lit the fuse and he never put the match down,” Mr. Dunn said on the video.

He also denounced how the Trump administration has carried out immigration enforcement operations.

“I see the same aggression in ICE agents that I saw from Jan. 6 insurrectionists,” he said.

Mr. Dunn said he had deep ties to the district, which includes portions of Prince George’s County, where he grew up. Although he currently lives in Montgomery County in Washington’s suburbs, he said he planned to move to the district.

“I was born and raised there. I was born in the district on Andrews Air Force Base. I went to school, elementary, middle, high school, all through the district. My family lives there in the district, so it’s home,” he said.

A candidate must live in Maryland to run for the seat, but is not required to live in the district he or she seeks to represent.

Luke Broadwater covers the White House for The Times.

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