A memorial plaque honouring police officers who defended the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, insurrection was installed in the early hours of Saturday, nearly three years after Congress mandated it. The large bronze plaque was bolted to a granite wall near a west entrance of the Capitol at around 4 a.m., with no media present and no official announcement.
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 commemorates the more than 140 officers injured and five who died in the aftermath of the attack by supporters of Donald Trump attempting to overturn the 2020 election result.
Congress passed a law in 2022 requiring the plaque's installation within one year, but the deadline was missed. The delay prompted Democrats to install replica plaques outside their offices and led to a civil lawsuit by former officer Harry Dunn and officer Daniel Hodges to compel compliance. Republican Senator Thom Tillis also pushed for the plaque's installation, raising the issue on the fifth anniversary of the insurrection.
Dunn expressed relief at the installation but questioned why the process was so prolonged. 'I never thought honouring police officers would be this controversial,' he told The Washington Post. The lawsuit argued that the delay was an attempt to rewrite history, as many politicians now depend on ignoring that Trump tried to overthrow democracy.
