History Bends Toward Distortion When Accountability is Denied
By Harry Dunn, Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer
Five years ago, I stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, staring down a mob fueled by lies, hate, and rage. As a Capitol Police officer, I fought to protect our democracy from violent insurrectionists and am still fighting today. But now, the battleground has shifted. We’re confronted by those who want to whitewash that day’s horrors, rewrite history, and evade accountability. Let me be clear: January 6, 2021 was not “legitimate political discourse,” as Republicans have claimed. It was an assault on the Constitution and the fibers of our democracy, orchestrated by a defeated president and enabled by cowardice. If we fail to punish that betrayal, we risk losing democracy itself.
The events of January 6, 2021, remain a defining moment in American democracy: a day when violence replaced debate, conspiracy upended truth, and the peaceful transfer of power was nearly derailed. Except it wasn’t. The good guys won that day.
Though, what haunts me most is not the memory of rioters screaming for blood, but the audacity of some recalling those insurrectionists as heroes. To hear them lionized as “patriots” or “political prisoners” is to spit on the memory of Officer Brian Sicknick, who died defending the Capitol, and to mock the trauma of my colleagues who were beaten, tased, called racial slurs and traitors. Over 140 officers were bloodied, blinded, or left with shattered minds and horrible PTSD as a result of that day. Yet our testimony is drowned out by Trump pardoning every person (over 1,500) convicted or charged in connection to January 6th, including those who violently assaulted us police officers. The hypocrisy is staggering: The same leaders who praise law enforcement and “Back the Blue” in speeches, vilify us when we defend institutions from their allies.
When Congress passed a law to honor us officers with a plaque commemorating our sacrifice, I assumed it would be a simple act of decency. Instead, I am in the process of suing the Architect of the Capitol to compel them to hang the plaque as they have refused to and defied this law for over two years! Think about that: After defending lawmakers from a mob, I had to drag the government to court just to make them acknowledge our service. But this isn’t about a plaque. It’s about the truth.
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/history-bends-toward-distortion-when
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