Latest news with #HarryDunn
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Harry Dunn mother speaks of ‘undeserved' MBE for being ‘mum who was just broken'
The mother of a teenage motorcyclist, killed by a US citizen who was able to leave the UK under diplomatic immunity laws, has said she feels 'undeserving' of her MBE because she was 'a mum who was just totally broken'. Charlotte Charles, the mother of 19-year-old Harry Dunn, said her work on road safety following the crash that resulted in her son's death in 2019 was an 'avenue to direct my grief down'. Harry was killed when a Volvo driven by then-US state department employee Anne Sacoolas hit him while on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire. Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf following the crash and she was able to leave the country 19 days later. Mrs Charles, alongside Harry's father Tim Dunn, campaigned for justice for three years – which included a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House. Speaking about her reaction to when she received the letter telling her she had been made an MBE, Mrs Charles, 50, told the PA news agency: 'One of a bit of bewilderment, I guess. 'I couldn't be happier on behalf of Harry, if I'm honest. 'I just always wanted to make sure his death led to change, and if it means that a few more lives are saved, and victims of a serious crime are treated a little bit better, and that the roads in and around our bases in the UK are safer, then I'm thrilled to accept the award on behalf of him. 'But I don't think it's sunk in yet.' She continued: 'I think when I received the letter I just felt almost a little bit undeserving – because you don't forget all of the achievements that you've worked so, so very hard to secure. But at the end of the day I just view myself as a mum who was just totally broken. 'I didn't know any other way of coping apart from focusing on as many positive things as I possibly could. 'It was an avenue to direct my grief down – so for me, the last five-and-a-half years… campaigning for one more string to the bow of Harry's legacy was a real focus. 'So for it to be honoured and recognised feels a little bit surreal because I was just doing what I desperately needed to do at the time – which was to try and secure safety and a better understanding of everything that we had been going through. 'So it just feels quite surreal.' Questioned on whether she felt her work on road safety and changing the laws regarding diplomatic immunity would be recognised in such a way, she said: 'No, not at all – it's the furthest thing from your mind. 'All you're thinking about at the time is to just try to make sure that what happened to us just never happened to anybody else. 'When Anne Sacoolas left the country and jumped through what we discovered was a loophole – that was one of the main things on my radar, to get that loophole closed. 'Then you start looking more widely.' She added: 'You work on these things and you do your absolute best at the time for what you have in your head and what changes you want to make for the sake of healing your heart a little bit more. 'But you never ever think that a recognition like this is going to come along – it's just not in your realms of thinking at all.' Mrs Charles, and the rest of the Dunn family, are expecting a parliamentary inquiry to be announced soon before the sixth anniversary of Harry's death in August. She told PA: 'I would say that we have been more at peace since justice was done. 'In our eyes, we did achieve what we set out to achieve. 'We were able to show that those who think they are above the law aren't – certainly not in our country. 'We can't control other countries' laws and regulations but we had a lot of faith and hope in our justice system. 'So to be able to achieve that was incredible, and I think the overall feeling is one of peace. 'I carried out that promise to Harry – and the public and the media, and eventually our own Government, helped us to achieve that. 'Life is still really hard – if I'm honest we're still trying to work out what our life is without Harry. 'You constantly live with that pain and that sense of sheer loss – but certainly I can say on behalf of myself and the family that we do have a better sense of peace in our broken hearts now.' Asked if her MBE was on behalf of her son, she said: 'Absolutely it's on behalf of Harry. 'My love for him has got me through all of the fights that we've had to have to get to where I am today. 'So the award is absolutely on behalf of Harry, yes.'
BBC News
13 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Harry Dunn's mum Charlotte Charles appointed MBE
The mother of motorcyclist Harry Dunn, whose death led to a Transatlantic diplomatic row, has been appointed MBE in the King's Birthday Dunn, 19, was killed in August 2019 after US State Department employee Anne Sacoolas hit him with her car while driving on the wrong side of the road near RAF Croughton, who had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf, left the country, but was later given a suspended jail Charles, who is honoured for her outstanding services to road safety, said: "This is an honour I never imagined receiving, and one I wish had never had cause to receive." Mr Dunn's death led the family, including Harry's father Tim Dunn, on a three-year campaign for justice, which included a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House during his first left the country 19 days after the crash and appeared by video link at the Old Bailey to plead guilty to causing death by careless was sentenced in December 2022 to eight months in prison, suspended for a case, and campaigning from the family, prompted road safety improvements around US Air Force also led the UK and the US to amend an "anomaly" that allowed Sacoolas to leave the country. Ms Charles said: "From the moment I lost Harry, I knew I had to keep the promise I made to him - to fight for justice, and to make sure his death would lead to change."I've never viewed myself as a campaigner. I'm simply a mum trying to do right by her son."If Harry's death has meant others now live safer lives, if victims are treated with more compassion, if a few more lives are saved, then I accept this honour for him, and for every person who walked this journey with us."She said the honour was "on behalf of Harry"."My love for him has got me through all of the fights that we've had to have to get to where I am today," she added. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Jan 6 cops file lawsuit to force Congress to install honorary plaque at Capitol
Two police officers who were on duty during the January 6 insurrection have filed a civil lawsuit after a memorial plaque to honor those who defended the building was not put up. Harry Dunn, a former officer of the United States Capitol Police, and Daniel Hodges, who currently serves in the Metropolitan Police Department, say the agency that operates and maintains the Capitol is violating a law that required a plaque to be erected. The two men are bringing the suit 'to compel Congress to follow its own law and install the mandated memorial, to honor the women and men who saved the lives of those inside the building, and to ensure that the history of this attack on the Capitol—and on democracy—is not forgotten,' the filing states. More than 140 police officers were injured on January 6, after a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to block his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden. Five police officers involved in defending the Capitol died in the following weeks. A year later in 2022, Congress passed a law that directed the Architect of the Capitol, Thomas Austin, to honor the officers who defended the building, which was signed by Biden. Austin is named as the defendant in the civil lawsuit, but previously testified at a U.S. House subcommittee that his office had not received 'final instructions' about installing the plaque. According to the suit, during the riot, Dunn protected injured officers, and Hodges was kicked in the chest Someone also tried to gouge out his eyes. 'Many of the other officers who defended the Capitol and the elected officials inside that day did not expect to survive,' the filing states. 'One officer trapped in the crowd heard rioters scream, 'Kill him with his own gun' as they grabbed ammunition magazines from his belt.' In a statement shared with Reuters, a lawyer for Dunn and Hodges said 'Congress's refusal to install the plaque is an attempt to rewrite history. So many politicians' careers now depend on ignoring the fact that Donald Trump tried to overthrow democracy.' The lawsuit also states that in the aftermath of the attack, Trump has spread disinformation and conspiracy theories that have been adopted by his Republican allies in Congress. "After Congress passed the law, the politics of January 6 began to change. Donald Trump began to call the attack on the Capitol a 'day of love' and said that 'the cops should be charged and the protesters should be freed," the lawsuit said. "As Trump's political fortunes rebounded, elected officials began to parrot his claims about the day." It adds: 'While Congress has installed a memorial to other officers who died in a different tragedy, it has not installed the plaque to honor those who defended the Capitol on January 6. 'Meanwhile, though Congress has not installed the memorial to the officers who defended it, members have managed to honor the man who inspired the violence." It comes as controversy over Jan 6 continues to rumble on, especially in light of Trump's return to the White House. After returning to the Oval Office in January, Trump pardoned about 1,500 of his supporters who were charged in the attack. Some of those individuals had been accused of attacks on police officers and many of those suits were filed in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia – like that of Dunn and Hodges. Trump's pardons drew criticism from some police organizations and Republicans. "Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think, was a mistake,' Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said at the time.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Two Jan. 6 police officers sue to force US Capitol to install memorial plaque
June 12 (Reuters) - Two police officers on duty during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by U.S. President Donald Trump's supporters sued federal officials on Thursday, saying the government has refused to install a federally-mandated memorial to officers who fought to defend the iconic building. The lawsuit, opens new tab, filed in federal court in Washington, said the agency that operates and maintains the Capitol is violating a law that required a plaque to be erected commemorating the actions of law enforcement on Jan. 6. Officers on that day battled a mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol in a bid to block his 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. More than 100 police officers were injured during the riot. Congress in 2022 had passed a law that directed the Architect of the Capitol to honor the officers who defended the building. The law, signed by then-President Joe Biden, gave the Capitol office one year to display a plaque in the building. Representatives from the Capitol and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol police officer, and Daniel Hodges, an officer at the Metropolitan Police Department. During the riot, Dunn protected injured officers, the lawsuit said. Hodges at one point during the assault was kicked in the chest, and someone tried to gouge out his eyes, the lawsuit said. In a statement, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said 'Congress's refusal to install the plaque is an attempt to rewrite history. So many politicians' careers now depend on ignoring the fact that Donald Trump tried to overthrow democracy.' Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin testified at a U.S. House subcommittee in April that the U.S. House speaker's office has not told his office to make any modifications to the House. 'We have not received final instructions to install the plaque,' Austin said. A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit could become a new flashpoint over Jan. 6. After his election to his second term as U.S. president in January, Trump pardoned about 1,500 of his supporters who were charged in the attack. Some of those individuals had been accused of attacks on police officers. Trump's pardons drew criticism from some police organizations and Republicans. "Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake,' Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said at the time. The case is Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges v. Architect of the Capitol, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:25-cv-01844. For plaintiffs: Brendan Ballou of Lichten & Liss-Riordan For defendant: No appearance yet Read more: Republican Senator Graham calls Trump's Jan. 6 pardons a 'mistake' US judge says Trump Jan. 6 pardons reflect 'revisionist myth' Hundreds of Capitol rioters released from prison after Trump's sweeping pardon
CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Jan. 6 riot victims, Democrats see hypocrisy in Trump's response to L.A. protests
Some of the victims of the U.S. Capitol siege are angry about the Trump administration's public statements and response to this weekend's unrest in Los Angeles, accusing top officials and the president of hypocrisy. They point to the stark difference between the aggressive response of the president and his top aides against those who allegedly assaulted police in Los Angeles, compared to their staunch defense of those who admitted beating and gassing police on Jan. 6. The disparity risks inflaming the already heated controversy in California. "Trump still calls January 6 a 'day of love' and it's total bulls***," said former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who responded to the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. "Hypocrisy is the key word," Dunn told CBS News. "Trump thinks anything done in his name is OK. Jan. 6 was done in his name, so our officers don't matter." File: Demonstrators attempt to enter the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images Some of the Trump administration's top national security leaders have issued forceful public statements criticizing the people accused of confronting and assaulting police in Los Angeles, amid a weekend of unrest over federal immigration raids. Those statements are stirring anger or frustration by Capitol siege victims, who are still outraged by the pardons President Trump issued to more than 1,500 Capitol riot defendants — including approximately 600 accused of assaulting police. On Saturday, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote a social media post stating, "Hit a cop, you're going to jail… doesn't matter where you came from, how you got here, or what movement speaks to you." A day later, deputy FBI director Dan Bongino wrote, "If you choose violence tonight, this message is for you. We will be investigating and pursuing all available leads for assault on a federal officer, in addition to the many arrests already made." "It feels like those posts should have an asterisk, which says 'effective now.' They're fine with police officers that got assaulted and attacked on January 6," Dunn said, blasting those posts. Brendan Ballou, a former federal prosecutor who handled some Jan. 6 criminal cases, told CBS News, "For Trump, the law applies to his enemies but not his friends. He calls protesters in Los Angeles 'insurrectionists' while praising those who attacked the Capitol on January 6 as 'patriots' and 'warriors.'" "His use of language is deliberate: it is an attempt to rewrite history and to create a false equivalency between the protests happening now and his attempt to subvert democracy in 2021," Ballou added. "I hope that those following don't fall for it." Democrats in Congress have also noted the contrast in Mr. Trump's decision to order the National Guard to California this weekend, despite his delay in doing so to help save the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Maryland Democrat who represents a large number of congressional employees, told CBS News, "The hypocrisy is unmistakable." "President Trump has urged the immediate deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles, despite the governor and mayor saying it's not needed," Ivey said. "Yet he delayed sending the guard on Jan. 6, when insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, violently attacked police and targeted Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi." In social media posts Monday, some of the convicted Jan. 6 rioters have argued that the Los Angeles unrest is larger in scale and size than the U.S. Capitol siege. In an X post that received 1 million views in its first 12 hours, a side-by-side image of a fiery and smoke-filled moment from the Los Angeles unrest is shown next to a quieter moment during the attacks from the Capitol riot. — I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) June 9, 2025 Dunn argued other layers of hypocrisy risk further inflaming tensions. He said outrage among Trump supporters over the waving of Mexican flags by crowds in Los Angeles minimizes the horror of the Confederate flags that were paraded on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6. The blistering criticism of people who were part of the crowds and confrontations with police in Los Angeles marks a sharp contrast with the treatment of Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt by Mr. Trump and his allies. She was on the front lines of the Jan. 6 mob as it breached the House Speaker's Lobby and was shot and killed by a Capitol Police lieutenant as she entered a smashed window in a doorway. Mr. Trump has called Babbitt a "patriot," and the Trump administration recently reached a legal settlement to give a multimillion-dollar taxpayer-funded payment to Babbitt's family. Patel and Bongino, who were appointed as the top two leaders at the FBI by Trump, have a history of conspiratorial posts and statements about the Capitol attack. In a social media post last year, Bongino wrote, "Who else was at the DNC on January 6th? Was it all a set-up?" Patel initially defied requests for information from the House Jan. 6 Select Committee, though he did appear before the panel in December 2021. At his Senate confirmation hearings earlier this year, Patel was accused of referring to violent Capitol rioters as "political prisoners." The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CBS News about Patel and Bongino's statements. Mr. Trump has consistently defended Capitol rioters as patriots who were victims of a "weaponized" Justice Department during the Biden administration. Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, told CBS News it is Trump who has weaponized the federal government. "Donald Trump pardoned 1,500 cop-beaters and insurrectionists, defied court orders, and weaponized prosecutions against his political opponents, yet he now pretends to care about 'law and order' when Americans protest his efforts to deport non-violent, non-criminal immigrants without due process," Goldman said. "Where was the Republican outrage when Trump freed domestic terrorists?" Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who chaired the House Jan. 6 Select Committee, told CBS News, "Whether it's the Capitol on January 6 or Los Angeles this weekend, it's clear Trump is totally fine with lighting the match to stoke violence if he thinks it'll help him politically. Spare us the fake outrage."
