Ex-US Capitol cop, Jan. 6 rioter’s runs for Congress illustrate a divided America | U.S. & World [Video]

By Richard Cowan

ELLICOTT CITY, Maryland (Reuters) – A former U.S. Capitol police officer who defended lawmakers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and a man who served time in prison for joining the mob, could both be headed to Congress next year if they succeed in primaries later this month.

Their campaigns for respective Democratic and Republican nominations present a split-screen look into a divided nation more than three years after the siege by Donald Trump supporters trying to overturn his election defeat.

The pair — Democrat Harry Dunn in Maryland and Republican Derrick Evans in West Virginia — are seeking their parties’ nominations in strongly partisan districts, meaning both could serve together in the House of Representatives next year if they prevail in their separate May 14 contests.

Dunn, 40, said he was thrust into politics by what he experienced on Jan. 6, which he said stoked his concerns about the …