A plaque honoring the January 6 police officers on display at the Capitol

(Washington) Visitors to the U.S. Capitol will now have a visible marker of the siege that took place there on January 6, 2021, as well as a reminder of the officers who fought and were injured that day.

A few steps from the west side of the Capitol, where the most violent fighting took place, workers discreetly installed a plaque in honor of the officers, three years after the law required its installation.

The plaque was placed on the Senate side of the hallway because that chamber voted unanimously in January to install it after House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, delayed its installation.

“On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary people who courageously protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021,” the plaque reads. Their heroism will never be forgotten. »

THE Washington Post was the first to announce the installation of the plaque, which a reporter witnessed around 4 a.m. Saturday. This is the first official symbol of this violent day at the Capitol.

Sen. Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, led the recent effort to install it, as he commemorated the fifth anniversary of the attack on the Senate floor in January and described his memories of hearing people breaking into the building.

“We owe them eternal gratitude, and this nation is stronger because of them,” he said of the officers who were overwhelmed by thousands of President Donald Trump’s supporters and ultimately managed to push them out of the building.

The crowd of thugs who violently forced their way past the police and burst into the building echoed Donald Trump’s false allegations that the election had been stolen after the Republican’s defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.

The mob interrupted Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s victory for several hours, put lawmakers on the run and vandalized the building before police regained control. More than 140 officers from the U.S. Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police Department and other agencies were injured.

The fight to install the plaque came as Donald Trump returned to power last year and the Republican Congress remained loyal to him. Donald Trump, who called Jan. 6 the “day of love,” tried to blame Democrats and police for the attack, and many Republicans in Congress downplayed the violence.

Three years late

In 2022, Congress passed a law establishing instructions for the honorary plaque that lists the names of officers “who responded to the violence that occurred.” He set a one-year deadline for its installation, but the plaque was never put in place.

Democrats, angered by the plaque’s absence, installed replicas outside their offices and demanded Republican Party leaders either put it up or explain why it was missing.

After more than a year of silence – and a lawsuit filed by two officers who fought at the Capitol that day – Mr. Johnson’s office issued a statement on January 5, the day before the fifth anniversary of the attack, saying that the law authorizing the plaque was “unenforceable” and that the proposed alternatives were “not compliant.”

Mr. Tillis went to the Senate floor later in the week and pushed through a resolution, without objection from other senators, to place the plaque on the Senate side.

Associated Press contributor Allison Robbert contributed to this report.