Washington – Approaching the fifth anniversary of the attack on the Capitol, January 6, 2021, official plaque respect the police who defended democracy that day is nowhere to be found.
It is not on display in the Capitol as required by law. His whereabouts are not publicly known, although he is believed to be in storage.
Speaker of the House Mike JohnsonRepublican from Louisiana, has yet to officially unveil the plaque. And the Trump administration Department of Justice trying to release police lawsuit asking to be displayed as intended. Architect of the Capitolwhich was responsible for acquiring and displaying the plaque, said in light of the federal lawsuit that it could not comment.
About 100 members of Congress, mostly Democrats, decided to preserve the nation’s history and commemorated the moment. For months, they’ve installed poster-board-style replicas of Jan. 6 outside their office doors, leaving the Capitol complex flooded with makeshift memories.
“On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021,” reads the fake bronze stand-in for the real thing. “Their heroism will never be forgotten.”
On January 6, the void in the Capitol
In Washington, a capital city lined with monuments to the nation’s history, the plaque was to become a simple but permanent marker, located near the west front of the Capitol, where the most violent fights they acted like rioters breached the building.
But in its absence, the missing plaque makes way for something else entirely – a culture of forgetting.
Visitors can walk through the Capitol without any formal reminder of what happened that day, when a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to reverse the Republican defeat of Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. With the memory unchecked, it allows new stories to swirl and revised history to take hold.
Five years ago, a disturbing scene was announced, which the whole world watched “uprising” by then-Senate GOP leader, while then-House GOP leader called it his “saddest day” in Congress. But the convictions faded.
Trump calls it on the “day of love”. And Johnson, who was among those lawmakers who questioned the results of the 2020 election, is now Speaker of the House.
“The question of Jan. 6 remains — democracy was guillotined — how important that event is in the overall sweep of 21st-century U.S. history,” said Douglas Brinkley, Rice University history professor and distinguished scholar.
“Will January 6th be seen as the pivotal moment when democracy was at risk?” he asked. Or will it be remembered as “some weird one-off”?
“There’s not as much consensus on it as you’d think on the fifth anniversary,” he said.
Memories shift, but the violent legacy lingers
At least five people, including Trump supporters, died in the riots and their aftermath Ashli Babbittwho was fatally shot by police while trying to climb through a window into the House of Commons. More than 140 police officers were injured, some seriously, and several died later, some by suicide.
All told, about 1,500 people were charged in the Capitol attack, among the largest federal prosecutions in the nation’s history. When Trump returned to power in January 2025, he he pardoned all within hours of taking office.
Unlike the twin beams of light that commemorated the attacks of September 11, 2001, or the individual chairs at the Oklahoma City bombing memorial, the ignorance of Jan. 6 left a gap not only in memory, but in helping to stitch the country back together.
“That’s why you put up the plaque,” said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa. “You respect the memory and service of the people involved.”
Police sue Jan. 6 plaque, DOJ seeks dismissal
The speaker’s office said in a statement late Monday that the law authorizing the plaque was “not feasible” and the proposed alternatives also “do not comply.” Johnson’s spokesman said if Democrats are serious about recalling the police, they can work with the relevant committees to create a framework for proper vetting and consideration.
Lawmakers approved the plaque in March 2022 as part of a wider government funding package. The resolution said the U.S. “owes these officers our deepest gratitude” and set guidelines for a plaque naming officers “who responded to the violence that occurred.” She set a one-year deadline for installation in the Capitol.
This summer, two officers who fought the mob that day sued over the delay.
“By refusing to uphold the law and honor officers as required, Congress is supporting this rewriting of history,” he said. claim according to officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges. “It suggests that the officers are not worthy of recognition because Congress refuses to recognize them.”
The Ministry of Justice is pursuing this case dismissed. U.S. Rep. Jeanine Pirro and others argued that Congress has “already publicly recognized the service of law enforcement personnel” by approving the plaque, and displaying it would not alleviate the problems they say they face in their jobs.
“It is unlikely,” Justice Department attorneys wrote, to suggest that the installation of the plaque “will stop the alleged death threats they allegedly received.”
The ministry also said the plaque must include the names of “all police officers” who took part in the response that day – about 3,600 people.
Makeshift memorials are popping up
Lawmakers who installed replica plaques outside their offices said it was important for the public to know what happened.
“There are new generations of people growing up who don’t understand how close we came to losing our democracy on Jan. 6, 2021,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the Jan. 6 committee, which was opposed by GOP leadership but still issued a nearly 1,000-page report investigating the 2020 campaign-rigging attack.
Raskin imagines the Capitol one day holding tours of what happened. “People need to study it as a fundamental part of American history,” he said.
“Think about the dates in American history that we only know by dates: It’s July 4th. It’s December 7th. It’s September 11th. And it’s January 6th,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who also served on the committee and has a plaque outside her office.
“They really saved my life and they saved democracy and they deserve to be thanked for that,” she said.
But as time goes on, there are no more bilateral commemorative services on January 6. On Tuesday, Democrats will convene committee members for a Jan. 6 hearing to “examine the continuing threats to free and fair elections,” House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries of New York announced. Republicans are unlikely to participate.
Republicans under Johnson tapped Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia to set up their own special committee to uncover what the speaker calls “the full truth” of what happened. They are planning a hearing this month.
“We should stop this stupidity of trying to whitewash history — that’s not going to happen,” said Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., who helped lead the effort to display the replica plaques.
“I was here that day, so I’ll never forget,” he said. “I think the American people will not forget what happened.”
The number of makeshift plaques that fill the halls is a testament to that memory, he said.
Instead of one plaque, he said, “now they have 100.”
Leave a Reply