Meet the Good Cops Who Are Fighting Back

Plus: We’re expanding our DC street campaign against masked federal agents.

Credit: Hannah Yoest

As federal agents continue occupying Washington DC, we’ve seen all kinds of unprofessional police work: Cops covering their faces and refusing to identify themselves. Squads brutalizing delivery drivers without explanation. Dragnet checkpoints that treat residents like enemies. Agents telling bystanders that “liberals” ruined the country.

But not all cops are along for the ride. Today, we want to introduce you to two who are fighting back and refusing to let their fellow officers be used as pawns in Donald Trump’s power games. They’re the newest members of the leadership of Home of the Brave, which features distinguished voices who refuse to be silent in the face of what we’re seeing. And you’re going to be hearing a lot from them in the coming weeks:

Harry Dunn served on the United States Capitol Police force for 15 years. He defended the Capitol on January 6, where he faced down a mob of thousands of Trump supporters sent there by the president to “take back” their country—code for overthrowing the election results and illegally keeping Trump in power. Dunn testified before the House Select Committee investigating the attack and earned a Congressional Gold Medal for his bravery.

The day of the attack, he was tasked with protecting some of the highest-ranking members of Congressional leadership. He faced down rioters bearing Make America Great Again and Confederate flags, and he was called racial slurs repeatedly by the mob. By the end of the day his fists were bloody from combat. Since then, like so many of the January 6 cops who dared speak out about what happened that day, he has been targeted with violence, threats, and abuse from those who pretend to “back the blue.”

Michael Feinberg is a career FBI agent who rose to become Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the bureau’s Norfolk Field Office. He was poised to receive a promotion and take on an expanded role when Trump was re-elected president, appointing Kash Patel and Dan Bongino—conspiracy theorists bearing a literal enemies list of political undesirables—to remake the agency in Trump’s image.

Soon Patel and Bongino came for him. Seizing on his personal friendship with former agent Peter Strzok—who Trump has targeted for years with conspiracy theories—FBI leadership made clear to Feinberg that he would not be receiving his promotion, and would instead be demoted and subjected to a lie detector test and other indignities. Rather than participate in this charade, Feinberg resigned, writing to his supervisor:

“It should go without saying—to anyone who cares about the Constitution and rule of law—that this is not right. Our organization’s motto is ‘Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity,’ but over the past six months there have been too many signs that our current leadership does not understand the last of those words.”

This is what real bravery looks like. This is what honest police work looks like. This is what truly protecting and serving the public looks like. While Trump’s masked agents wage war on DC—and Chicago next—officers Dunn and Feinberg are proving that it’s still possible to serve with honesty and courage. It just requires that officers put their sworn oaths above Trump’s dictatorial ambitions, and refuse to allow themselves to be used in furtherance of his authoritarian aims.

Here’s our only ask of you: If you support the work of these brave officers, and if you want to help their voices reach more Americans, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to Home of the Brave today.

We’re also rolling out the next phase of our six-figure DC street campaign calling on federal agents to stop acting like an occupying force in the nation’s capital. As of today, we’re blanketing DC with 115 bus shelter advertisements telling officers to “Take off your masks!” This is in addition to the posters, street decals, and mobile billboards that we announced last week in response to Trump’s crackdown. And there will be a lot more coming as Trump takes his occupation on the road.

Michael Fanone is a former police officer who defended the Capitol on January 6. He is an Advisory Board Member and Spokesman for Home of the Brave.