Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn is setting the record straight: He does not accept convicted rioter Stephen Ayres’ apology, despite what a viral social media post may imply.
Following Tuesday’s Jan. 6 House committee hearing, Ayres – who testified that then President Donald Trump was “riling up” his supporters to march on the Capitol – approached Dunn and fellow Capitol officers Michael Fanone and Aquilino Gonell to offer his apologies. The moment was captured and circulated online, with one Twitter user captioning the image “An apology given and accepted.”
However, that does not appear to be the case.
Just 27 minutes after the above was posted to Twitter, Dunn quote tweeted the note with his own correction, implying that the apology was given, but he did not accept it.
*Apology given… https://t.co/GwoJw8Nfco
— Harry A Dunn ? (@libradunn) July 12, 2022
Dunn subsequently gave several interviews in which he clarified the interaction, noting that he wasn’t prepared for the moment and is not yet ready to accept Ayres’ apology.
“It caught me off guard. And, you know, good for him for apologizing. But, you know, he owed an apology to the entire world, to the entire American democracy, to the American people,” Dunn said while appearing on Tuesday’s “The Last Word” on MSNBC. “You know, he, whether he inflicted violence or harm on anybody, he kept us from doing our job that day and he needs to be held accountable. So I acknowledged his apology, but I had other things going on where I’m not accepting it at the moment.”
Dunn also spoke with CNN, saying: “It’s right to apologize. He owes the entire country, and anybody, who was harmed that day – emotionally, physically – he owes them an apology, also. However, I acknowledged his, but I don’t necessarily accept it. That takes some time.”
