A plaque honoring the police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 is literally nowhere to be found—despite a federal law requiring it to be displayed.
The official bronze marker, mandated by Congress in March 2022, was supposed to be installed near the Capitol’s west front, where some of the most brutal violence occurred as rioters stormed the building.
Instead, it’s believed to be collecting dust in storage while House Speaker Mike Johnson—who himself challenged the 2020 election results—refuses to unveil it.
THE DETAILS: Two officers who fought the mob that day, Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges, sued over the delay this summer. Their lawsuit cuts right to the chase: “By refusing to follow the law and honor officers as it is required to do, Congress encourages this rewriting of history.”
The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is now trying to get the case thrown out. Their argument? Displaying the plaque wouldn’t stop the death threats the officers claim to receive. (That’s seriously their reasoning.)
Johnson’s office says the statute is “not implementable” and suggested Democrats work through committees if they’re “serious” about honoring police. The Architect of the Capitol, responsible for obtaining and displaying the plaque, won’t comment due to the litigation.
OF COURSE: The memory-holing fits a pattern. Trump pardoned all 1,500 people charged in the Capitol attack within hours of returning to office. He now calls the day “a day of love.”
The Senate Republican leader who declared it an “insurrection” has gone quiet. The House GOP leader who called it his “saddest day” is now history.
Instead of consensus, visitors can now walk through the Capitol with zero formal reminder that a violent mob tried to overturn an election there—and that at least five people died, 140 officers were wounded, and several later died by suicide.
BUT BUT BUT: About 100 members of Congress—mostly Democrats—have mounted poster board replicas of the plaque outside their office doors. “Instead of one plaque,” said Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), “we’ve now got 100.”
The fake bronze stand-ins read: “On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on Jan. 6, 2021. Their heroism will never be forgotten.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who served on the January 6 committee, envisions the Capitol one day holding tours about what happened. “People need to study that as an essential part of American history.”
WHY IT MATTERS: “There are new generations of people who are just growing up now who don’t understand how close we came to losing our democracy,” Raskin said.
History professor Douglas Brinkley of Rice University put the stakes plainly: “The question of January 6 remains—democracy was on the guillotine. Will January 6 be seen as the seminal moment when democracy was in peril? Or will it be remembered as kind of a weird one-off?”
As Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) noted: “Think about the dates in American history that we know only by the dates: There’s the 4th of July. There’s December 7th. There’s 9/11. And there’s January 6th.”
The difference? This one doesn’t have a plaque.