My interest in former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn began on October 6, 2022.
Shortly after the break and just before the ju judge returned to court, prosecutors and US lawyer Assistant Jeffrey Nessler approached the lecture. He told US District Judge Amit Meta that recently rejected lawyer Jonathon Moseley threatened to release two confidential FBI documents known as the “302s.”
Much of what Dan described in FBI interviews, Congressional testimony, court appearances, and even his books and media tours did not happen.
Form FD-302 consists of written notes and recollections recorded by FBI special agents after the interview. In this example, Nessler referenced two 302 based on separate interviews with Officer Dan. The FBI conducted its first interview in May 2021, and the second was held in August 2021.
Nessler said both forms remained sealed by the court and were labelled either “sensitive” or “very sensitive.” However, Moseley argued that the documents could be made public as the House Selection Committee introduced them as part of the proceedings on January 6th.
What I saw looked like a pre-restructured performance between US lawyer Jeffrey Nessler and judge Amit Meta. Mehta seemed furious at the idea that Moseley still believed he could release something below His seal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz-mzoq9amo
I saw the exchange unfold from the media room on the first floor of the district court. The room received live audio and video feeds from the courtroom on the second floor, where the trial was being held. On a typical day during the nine-week trial, between 20 and 30 journalists gathered there to cover the proceedings. It was the only place in the courthouse, where laptops and other electronic devices were available, and was prohibited by the court itself.
Most reporters spent time editing notes for articles during the day. However, our small group tweeted the minutes in real time.
After Nessler informed the judge of Moseley’s threat to release FBI 302, Meta responded in a way I’d never seen before.
He turned his attention to the journalists in the media room and instructed Moseley to “tweet” the message directly. If the 302s were released, or other documents still protected by court seals, Mehta will hold him in court light empty.
“He’s going to discover,” the judge said.
What was there?
The media room chuckled at Judge Meta with the orders that we would make his bid and convey his warning. Within seconds, the keyboard rattles as journalists were creating their own version of the judgement threat and rushing to air it all across social media.
Every day at the trial, I took my place in the right corner of the media room. I was a newcomer in a group of veteran court reporters – an outsider observing insiders. For the first two weeks, the court remained a Covid-19 masking power of attorney. From my seat, I was able to hang the mask from one ear without too much attention or disapproval of my more loyal colleagues.
That perspective also gave me a clear view of the room. I was able to see what other reporters were typing, observe their screens and monitor how they shaped the story.
I continued to focus elsewhere while they laughed and tweeted Mehta’s warning to Moseley. One question consumed my thoughts: What are these two 302s?
What exactly did these two FBI forms include that the prosecutors (and judges) didn’t want to show to the ju judges or the American people?
One clue had already emerged on social media. It came from a FBI interview with Dan on May 18, 2021. This was cited in a pretrial motion filed by Stewart Rhodes’ attorney Edward Tarpley. The 12-page footnote in the filing quoted the following excerpt:
Capitol police officer Harry Dunn notified all protesters who need to leave and told them they had pledged to be fighting. The Oath Keeper told him he would help protect the protesters from the Lower West Terrace area. Dan advised that they allowed them to stand in front of him to prevent protesters from going down the stairs. Dan left the area when he was relieved by the USCP riot officers.
– A two-page FBI interview published by the U.S. House Selection Committee on May 18, 2021, May 18, 2021, May 18, 2021, and January 6, 2021.
This explanation – Dan’s own account of his encounter with four oath keepers at the top of the staircase at the Capitol near Rotunda – appeared to support their claim that it helped to eliminate the unstable situation. Rather than confronting the officers, the Oath Keeper reportedly tried to position himself between Dan and the more aggressive crowd, preventing further escalation.
I had to get 302 of them – and in the end, I did.
Invention and avoidance
The second 302, based on Officer Harry Dunn on August 16, 2021, spoke very differently from the first in an interview with the FBI. In that follow-up, Dan completely overturned his account. He now claims that he has never given permission to the four oath keepers to assist him on the top of the stairs. Instead, he described the interaction as hostile, saying that they tried to force their way past him.
Dan also invented a second encounter. In that version, he says another group wears militia-style gear similar to the guardian of the oath, and attempts to position himself between him and the more aggressive crowd of protesters.
The contrast between the two interviews raised more questions than answers.
I have never published two 302s, but both have proven to be invaluable. They provided important details – and pointed me out when Congress finally granted journalists access to long-standing 41,000 hours of Capitol CCTV footage.
From its surveillance footage, DC Metropolitan Police body decoration cameras, and other open source videos released in various Jan. 6 exams, Blaze Media was able to see the annoying patterns.
Two weeks before October 2023 release His book“My Standing Standing: The Battle of Capitol Police Officers for Accountability and Good Troubles after January 6th,” Dan agreed to meet with me for a record-breaking conversation. We spent four hours together at the US Capitol.
Because there was a meeting From the recordwe cannot disclose what Dan said. But I have prepared my own candid and direct points. By then, I had already spent days in the Capitol CCTV viewing room. He examines surveillance footage and later calls it “a day in Harry Dan’s life.” I also read pre-copies of his book.
To tell his personal story with video evidence about January 6th is to put it gently. That’s an understatement of the century.
I shared some specific examples with Dunn. There, video evidence directly contradicted the claims of Heroism and Derring-Do on January 6th.
“Harry, the media, Congress, and even the president — they’ve made you a national hero,” I told him. “But if you give me the names of those who pushed you to change your story about the Oath Keeper in that second FBI interview, I can make you a real hero.”
After that, I took him to his car. He said he would think about it.
But he never gave me those names.
