Why did a powerful veterans’ PAC endorse Harry Dunn, phony ‘hero’ of January 6?
Juan Dominguez, a West Point graduate and Gulf War veteran, is unhappy about the VoteVets political action committee’s decision to endorse former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. Unlike Dominguez and at least two other candidates in the crowded Democratic primary race for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, Dunn is not a military veteran.
VoteVets describes itself as a progressive political action committee that “endorses veterans and national security professionals” who champion “everyday issues that affect the lives of those who served, their families, and the country.”
‘The last thing the Democratic Party needs is a George Santos type running around on Capitol Hill.’
In a phone interview with Blaze Media, Dominguez shared his frustrations with VoteVets’ endorsement of a non-veteran in Tuesday’s primary election. The cable company executive said he’s concerned about the “back-channel money” that seems to flow to more favored candidates the Democratic Party establishment believes will do its bidding.
“In a race where there are three combat veterans, and arguably two of them spent a lot more time in a combat zone than I did, I really feel VoteVets is just another symptom of a problem we have in this country, which is large amounts of money that is basically untraceable dictating our elections,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said he would not have been upset about losing the endorsement to a fellow veteran.
“That endorsement could have gone to Mike Rogers, and I would have been fine with it. I would have been happy for Mike. The endorsement could have gone to Don Quinn, and I would have been happy for Don Quinn,” he said. “Instead, they picked the most offensive option, which is … let’s give it to the guy [Dunn] through the back-channel money that we will try to prop up to win because then he’ll be beholden to us moving forward. And that’s the cycle. The politics.”
And then there’s the fact that Dunn doesn’t even live in the district he supposedly wants to serve. Although it isn’t illegal for a candidate to live outside the district where he’s seeking office, it’s generally frowned upon.
“How can a person who doesn’t live in our district possibly know what the schools are like? What the economic situation is on the ground? What are the most important issues facing certain communities?” Dominguez said. “You could ask some of those questions, but you haven’t lived it. You haven’t coached sports in this community. You haven’t gone to religious services in this community. I mean, the list goes on and on. You get it?”
At an April 17 campaign event at the Eastport United Methodist Church in Annapolis, Dominguez made a snide offer to Dunn.
“District 3, I live here. My children go to school here. My family and friends are here, and I volunteer here. And I don’t have to commute from outside the district to campaign here,” Dominguez said, glancing at Dunn standing next to him. “If anyone needs to borrow my RV to get back and forth to the district, just let me know.”
Dirty Harry’s at it again
Dunn is the most lauded police officer who participated in the events of January 6, 2021. He may be the most famous Capitol Police officer in history. Dunn rose to fame almost immediately after the events of that day, when he alleged in media interviews that rioters called him the “N-word” “numerous times.” The corporate press amplified his claims without question.
Unlike other active-duty Capitol Police officers, Dunn seemingly had carte blanche to speak to the media. Dunn’s “N-word” stories began to evolve. Before long, as he told the New York Times, “20, 30, 40, 50 people” had surrounded him chanting racial slurs inside the Capitol Building.
Then came Dunn’s tales of heroism while engaging in hand-to-hand fighting with the “insurrectionists.” In interviews and in his 2023 book, “Standing My Ground: A Capitol Police Officer’s Fight for Accountability and Good Trouble After January 6th,” he claims he was left with “bloody knuckles” by the end of the day because he had to “punch” so many rioters. He also says he was covered in chemical sprays while battling protesters.
Almost none of Dunn’s claims can be corroborated by the video evidence Blaze Media has obtained from Capitol CCTV, police body-worn cameras, and other open-source videos.
The Truth About January 6
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Capitol Officer Harry Dunn Exposed | The Truth About January 6
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Proof of Perjury | The Truth About January 6
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The N-Word | The Truth About January 6
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Despite a yawning lack of evidence for Dunn’s tales of heroic derring-do, the media continue to repeat his many fabrications as fact. They have ignored Blaze Media’s stories showing Dunn lied to the House January 6 select committee and appeared to perjure himself at two Oathkeeper seditious conspiracy trials. They have accepted at face value Dunn’s timeline of events in his book.
Instead, the former Capitol Police officer who was never promoted above private first class has received a raft of commendations for his supposed heroism on January 6, including a Congressional Gold Medal. Joe Biden even awarded Dunn the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest honor a civilian can get, given to “U.S. citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”
Dunn left the Capitol Police on December 15 amid speculation that he planned to run for office. On January 5, he announced his campaign to succeed departing Rep. John Sarbanes in the heavily Democratic district.
The media might not be interested in Dunn’s tall tales about January 6, but they were quick to feature him as the only candidate that matters in a crowded field of 22. CNN, the Associated Press, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and other establishment organs have trumpeted his candidacy.
The Democratic Party establishment has lined up behind Dunn, too. According to Maryland Matters, Dunn’s high-profile endorsements include former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). And his campaign war chest dwarfs the rest of the field put together.
‘A slap in the face’
Dominguez, who briefly campaigned to replace retiring U.S. Senator Ben Cardin before switching to the House race, graduated from West Point in 1989 and served until 1994. By April 1990, the first-generation Cuban American oversaw his first unit. A few months later, Iraq invaded Kuwait. “By August, we were getting all of our stuff on boats and planes to go fight Saddam Hussein,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez says he hasn’t really dug into the details of Dunn’s actions on January 6. “I can’t speak to what did or didn’t happen that day,” he told Blaze Media.
But he had questions about Dunn’s role. “How could you have not sustained an injury? You know, if you were in the thick of it, so to speak?” Approximately 140 police officers were injured during the Capitol incursion.
“I think it’s incumbent upon Democratic primary voters, perhaps, to dig into the research and the evidence a little bit more because the last thing the Democratic Party needs is a George Santos type running around on Capitol Hill,” Dominguez added. “We know about that.”
Dominguez is uncomfortable with inflated talk of heroism. “As a West Point graduate and a Gulf War veteran, I think all veterans feel that their service was something that they signed up for and they did for their country,” he said. “So veterans, in particular, are loath to throw words around like ‘hero’ because we all kind of pretty much did our job, right?”
That’s partly why Dominguez was put off by VoteVets’ endorsement of Dunn. It wasn’t the first time the PAC had snubbed his candidacy.
“When I was running for the Senate against David Trone, I couldn’t get VoteVets to call me back,” he recalled.
“I said to myself, ‘Why won’t these guys call me back? I’m the only veteran in this race.’ Lo and behold, Congressman Trone was one of their largest benefactors.”
According to OpenSecrets.org, Trone, the co-owner and former president of the Total Wine and More retail chain, gave $100,000 to VoteVets in 2022.
“It’s about power. It’s about greed. And it’s generally not about doing the right thing,” Dominguez added. “And so, to give Harry Dunn the VoteVets endorsement … and he was a quote-unquote ‘hero’ on January 6 … is, I feel, a slap in the face to the other veterans in this race and to veterans all around the country.”
Dunn may have never served in the military, but his perjurious trial testimony contributed to the convictions of several veterans for their alleged crimes on January 6, 2021.
Dunn, having received the VoteVets PAC endorsement over three actual veterans, is a double insult to the stated purpose of the group’s mission.
Stay tuned to Blaze Media for our upcoming mini-documentary, “A Day in the Life of Harry Dunn,” which will expose his book and trial testimonies’ most egregious inconsistencies — all backed by evidence from Capitol CCTV video.
