Capitol police officer Harry Dunn has received numerous slurs online comparing him to disgraced actor “Jussie Smollett” after he delivered his testimony about the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, sparking outrage online.
Officer Dunn, a Black man, was one of several Capitol police who attended Tuesday’s House select committee hearing about what happened on that day.
He described being racially abused by rioters during the tense standoff, which eventually resulted in several gaining access to the Capitol.
Officer Dunn said of the standoff: “One woman in a pink MAGA short yelled, ‘you hear that guys, this ****** voted for Joe Biden. Then the crowd, perhaps around 20 people, joined in screaming ‘boo! F****** ******.”
“No one had ever-ever-called me a ‘******’ while wearing the uniform of the U.S. Capitol Police.”
While many online praised the bravery of Dunn and the other officers who gave their accounts over the riot at the Capitol on January 6, others lashed out and referred to him and the others as “Jussie Smollett.”
It resulted in the name trending on Twitter as users digested the testimonies of the Capitol officers.
Former Empire star Smollett was charged by a special prosecutor in February 2020 with six counts of lying to the police over a supposed 2019 attack.
Smollett claims he was assaulted by two men in a homophobic and racist attack and the charges of lying are related to the supposed attack. The actor has pleaded not guilty.
The case garnered international attention with many accusing Smollett of lying about the assault.
Following the officers’ testimony, the slur “Jussie Smollett” was used by people online to rubbish their claims about what happened on January 6.
Pete D’Abrosca said: “Officer Dunn gives me major Jussie Smollett vibes. And I was right about Jussie Smollett from day one.”
Officer Dunn gives me major Jussie Smollett vibes.
And I was right about Jussie Smollett from day one.
— Pete D’Abrosca (@pdabrosca) July 27, 2021
MMA fighter Vinny Magalhãessaid: “Libradunn (Dunn’s Twitter handle) is the new Jussie Smollett. I bet the lady in pink was also yelling “This is MAGA Country.” All that interaction and no one caught it on camera…”
But, other users hit back against those who attacked officer Dunn, with actor Daniel Newman commenting: “”I’m so ashamed of the White trash making the name ‘Jussie Smollett’ trend right now. They’re trying to make people believe all Black people are liars and White people are in danger. Have you ignorant SOBs never read a damn history book?
I’m so ashamed of the White Trash making the name “Jussie Smollett” trend right now. They’re trying to make people believe all black people are liars & white people are in danger. Have you ignorant SOBs never read a damn HISTORY book? You should be Fired for perpetuating Racism
— Daniel Newmaη (@DanielNewman) July 28, 2021
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Dunn is one of four officers who testified before the select committee, along with Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges. The committee was established by the House after Senate Republicans blocked a bill to create an independent commission to investigate the attack.
