U.S. Capitol building breached.Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty
U.S. Capitol and Washington, D.C. Metro Police officers will be awarded Congress' highest honor — a Congressional Gold Medal — with the White House announcing that PresidentJoe Bidenwouldsign a measurethat will award the group for its service duringthe Jan. 6 pro-Trump riots.
The bill, which Biden will sign Thursday evening at the White House, calls for the Treasury Department to award three total gold medals: one to the Capitol police headquarters, one to the Metropolitan Police Department and one that will go on display at the Smithsonian Institution.
While the law enforcement officers being honored protected the lives of Congressional lawmakers (who were gathered inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 to certify the election results), the measure to honor them wasn’t without its opponents.
In describing the events of the riots, the bill reads: “On January 6, 2021, a mob of insurrectionists forced its way into the U.S. Capitol building and congressional office buildings and engaged in acts of vandalism, looting, and violently attacked Capitol Police officers.”
Some of those who voted against it said they took issue with the word “insurrectionists” to characterize those who breached the Capitol complex, forcing the evacuation of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers as the mob ransacked offices and called out for politicians like then-Vice PresidentMike Pence.
The Senate, meanwhile,unanimously passed the measureon Wednesday, with lawmakers offering remarks about the importance of the honor.
In remarks made on the Senate floor Tuesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said of the honor, “I cannot imagine more worthy recipients than the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend this temple of democracy.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar echoed Schumer’s remarks.
Last week, four Capitol Police Officersgave emotional testimoniesduring day one of a House Committee hearing on the Jan. 6 riots, explaining how they fought for their own lives while working to protect the building and the lawmakers inside.
source: people.com
