Workers quietly installed a plaque near the U.S. Capitol’s West Front honoring police who responded to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, three years after a 2022 law required such a marker. The plaque was bolted to a Senate-side hallway wall after the chamber unanimously voted in January to install it; House Speaker Mike Johnson had previously delayed the action.
The bronze marker, placed near where some of the heaviest fighting occurred, bears wording that says, in part, “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. Their heroism will never be forgotten.” A Washington Post reporter said she saw two employees affix the plaque during an early morning shift, around 4 a.m. EST. Capitol tour guides photographed the marker after it was installed.
The plaque is the first official, on-site memorial at the Capitol recognizing the violent day. More than 150 law enforcement officers were injured during the siege, and five officers who served at the Capitol died in the days and weeks afterward.
Sen. Thom Tillis, who led the recent push to install the plaque after marking the attack’s fifth anniversary on the Senate floor, said the nation owes the officers “eternal gratitude.” The mob that breached the Capitol had gathered around false claims of a stolen election after then-President Donald Trump was defeated by Joe Biden; the crowd interrupted Congress’ certification of the Electoral College results, forced lawmakers to shelter, and vandalized parts of the building. Trump has described Jan. 6 as a “day of love,” shifted blame to Democrats and police, and after his second inauguration issued pardons to more than 1,500 people charged or convicted in the attack, including individuals convicted of assaulting officers and seditious conspiracy.
Congress’ 2022 law specified an honorific plaque listing the names of officers “who responded to the violence that occurred” and set a one-year deadline for installation. That deadline passed without the authorized marker being put up. Democrats, frustrated by the delay, placed replica plaques outside their offices and repeatedly pressed GOP leaders to install the official memorial or explain the hold-up.
After more than a year of inaction and a lawsuit from two officers who fought at the Capitol, Johnson’s office said on Jan. 5 that the statute authorizing the plaque was “not implementable” and that proposed alternatives “do not comply.” In response, Tillis filed a resolution on the Senate floor; with no objections, senators approved the placement and the plaque was installed on the Senate side.
One of the plaintiffs, Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who was crushed and beaten by rioters near the central west front doors — close to the plaque’s location — said the overnight installation is a “fine stopgap” but does not fully satisfy the law. The statute called for the plaque to be placed “on” the west front of the Capitol and for officers’ names to appear on the marker itself. Instead, the installed plaque sits on a nearby hallway wall and includes a sign with a QR code that links to a 45-page document listing thousands of officers who responded that day.
Hodges and former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn continue their lawsuit, arguing that Congress’ failure to follow the statute amounts to a “rewriting of history” and signals that officers are not worthy of the recognition the law intended. They say a judicial ruling would help ensure the memorial cannot be altered or removed in the future. The Justice Department has sought to dismiss the case; U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and others argued that Congress has already publicly recognized law enforcement by approving the plaque and that displaying it would not resolve the personal harms the officers say they suffer.
Officers who have spoken publicly about their Jan. 6 experiences report ongoing criticism and threats from some supporters of Trump who dispute their accounts. The lawsuit states both plaintiffs live with “psychic injuries” from that day, exacerbated by what they describe as their government’s refusal to properly acknowledge their service.
Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the top Democrat on the spending panel that oversees the legislative branch, said “our Capitol Police deserve more” and vowed to continue pressing Speaker Johnson. Espaillat also criticized the timing and manner of the installation, noting it occurred early in the morning with “no ceremony, no real recognition.”
The plaque’s placement marks the first formal, on-site acknowledgment at the Capitol of the Jan. 6 violence and the officers who responded, but legal and political disputes over whether the installation complies with the 2022 statute and whether it constitutes proper recognition remain unresolved.