Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Visits Milwaukee, Slams Schimel

Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer speaks at the Milwaukee Area labor Council, AFL-CIO. Photo taken Jan. 28 by Graham Kilmer.

Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn flew to Wisconsin Tuesday to speak out against Brad Schimel, a Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate, for not strongly condemning the mob of President Donald Trump‘s supporters who stormed the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, or the president’s decision to pardon them.

During a visit to the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, Dunn criticized Trump’s support for Jan. 6 defendants and called Schimel’s comments on them “pathetic.” It was Dunn’s fourth visit to Wisconsin. “I tried to do everything I could to keep [Trump] from getting elected,” he said.

Dunn was one of the police officers who defended Congress that day, and has since become a vocal critic of Trump and his supporters. He ran for Congress in Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District in 2024, but lost during the primary. Dunn resigned from the Capitol Police in 2023 and has testified before Congress on the events of Jan. 6.

“I wish that everybody could see what happened on January 6 and call it for what it was, even now, four years later, the fact that they aren’t is the reason why I am here,” Dunn said. “I’ll be damned if I ever stop pushing back against these lies, these narratives, these people that think it’s ok what happened there that day.”

Shortly after taking office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 individuals who stormed the Capitol building and threatened to attack members of Congress and Vice-President Mike Pence as Congress convened to certify the results of the 2020 election. Dunn said he had been preparing for the pardons, saying anyone shocked by the decision “weren’t paying attention.”

Dunn was in town primarily to call out Schimel, a Republican former state Attorney General who is running for Wisconsin Supreme Court against Susan Crawford, a former prosecutor and current Dane County Circuit Court Judge.

He referenced statements Schimel made during an appearance on the radio show of right-wing host Vicki McKenna where he said Jan. 6 defendants didn’t get a “fair shot” from the justice system.

“Imagine sending someone like that to the highest court in the state,” Dunn said, “Pathetic.”

Dunn further said Jan. 6 has become a “litmus test” for politicians seeking to “prove loyalty to the president.”

During a recent interview with media, Schimel was asked about the the pardons. He replied: “Presidents have the power to pardon. President Biden has issued pardons. President Trump has now issued pardons as he’s come in and presidents over history have done that. It’s a power they have. I don’t object to them utilizing that power.”