A plaque commemorating the police officers who defended the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attack has been installed, three years after it was mandated by law. The marker was placed in a Senate-side hallway near the Capitol's West Front, where the worst of the violence occurred. The installation took place quietly, with a reporter witnessing it around 4am EST on Saturday.
The plaque reads: 'On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honours the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021. Their heroism will never be forgotten.' It is the first official marker of the attack inside the Capitol. The delay was attributed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had previously blocked installation, citing concerns that the original statute was 'not implementable'.
Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, led the recent push to install the plaque after passing a unanimous Senate resolution in January. The attack, which saw thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump storm the building, left more than 140 officers injured. The rioters were echoing Trump's false claims of a stolen election, and the incident temporarily halted the certification of Joe Biden's victory.
The plaque's installation comes as Trump, who has described January 6 as a 'day of love', has sought to downplay the violence. Some Republicans in Congress have also downplayed the event. The original 2022 law required the plaque to be placed on the West Front and list officers' names, but the new installation includes a nearby sign with a QR code linking to a 45-page document of names.
Officer Daniel Hodges of the Metropolitan Police Department, who was crushed and beaten during the attack, said the installation was a 'fine stopgap' but not fully compliant with the law. He and former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn are pursuing a lawsuit against Congress, arguing that the delay and modifications constitute a 'rewriting of history'. The Justice Department has sought to dismiss the case.
