Trump insurrectionist Kelly Meggs — a leader in Florida of the far-right group known as the Oath Keepers — is seeking to get released from custody ahead of his trial, and amid these proceedings, Meggs has claimed that he “assisted” a Capitol Police officer while at the Capitol on the day of the January riot. Apparently, the officer who Meggs has in mind is none other than Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who gained a bit of extra prominence as one of four local officers who participated in a recent public hearing of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot. Mark Zaid, a lawyer for Dunn, shut down Meggs’s claims on Twitter.
Apparently, both Dunn himself and other officers who’d been nearby have refuted the idea that Meggs provided “assistance.” As federal authorities put it in a filing, “No officer stated or suggested that Defendant Meggs or other indicted defendants “assisted” the officers.” Zaid added on Twitter as follows, shredding claims from Meggs:
‘I represent USCP Officer #HarryDunn. This oath keeper claim is beyond absurd. He did nothing to “help” my client, who was also not “at risk”. This defendant should remain in custody pending trial. #ConsequencesForSedition’
I represent USCP Officer #HarryDunn. This oath keeper claim is beyond absurd. He did nothing to "help" my client, who was also not "at risk".
This defendant should remain in custody pending trial. #ConsequencesForSedition https://t.co/RN8aKBr4rM
— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) September 6, 2021
Meggs is one of hundreds of Capitol rioters who have been criminally charged over their role in the violence. Meggs, though, is “in a different class,” as federal Judge Amit Mehta put it earlier this year. Meggs is apparently facing a charge of conspiracy (alongside other charges), and as summarized by USA Today, Mehta concluded that “there was ample evidence to support that Meggs planned, led, financed and recruited others to join the Jan. 6 show of force, culminating in the deadly breach.” According to prosecutors, Meggs was in touch with individuals associated with far-right groups including the Proud Boys and Three Percenters in the lead-up to the attack. On the day of the assault on the Capitol, Meggs was among the members of a military “stack” formation that made its way into the building. That group consisted of individuals in tactical gear with one hand on a shoulder of the person in front of them.
Meanwhile, Dunn has shared how members of the riot crowd at the Capitol hurled violent, racist abuse at non-white officers who were among those trying to defend the premises. Disturbingly, Dunn said at that recent Congressional hearing that one officer told him how “he had been confronted by insurrectionists in the Capitol who told him, ‘Put your gun down, and we’ll show you what kind of n*gger you really are.'”
