‘You Held the Line’: Biden Honors Police, Poll Workers on Jan. 6

Jenny Leonard and Akayla Gardner
·3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden marked the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol by honoring police officers and election officials, while the institution faces new tumult from Republican infighting over electing a House speaker.

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“On this day two years ago, our democracy held because we the people — as the Constitution refers to us — we the people did not flinch. We the people endured. We the people prevailed,” Biden said during a White House ceremony Friday, two years after a violent mob, instigated by former President Donald Trump, stormed the Capitol building to try to stop the counting of Electoral College votes.

“You held the line that day. And what was on the line was our democracy,” Biden told his guests. “History will remember your names, remember your courage, remember your bravery, remember your extraordinary commitments to your fellow Americans.”

Biden awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to fourteen people — three posthumously — including officers from the Washington Metropolitan Police and US Capitol Police who helped defend the building during the attack, as well as state and local election officials who were harassed and threatened by Trump supporters over 2020 vote counts. The medal is the White House’s second-highest civilian award after the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Read more: Biden Gets a Political Gift on Jan. 6 With GOP’s Capitol Mutiny

Honorees included Michael Fanone, a Metropolitan Police officer who was injured in the attack and resigned from the force and Eugene Goodman, a Capitol Police officer credited with diverting rioters from the Senate floor. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who confronted the attackers and later died after suffering a stroke, was one of the people honored posthumously.

“To all of you I know this honor is bittersweet,” Biden said. “On that day, more than 140 law enforcement officials suffered physical injuries and untold numbers are suffering from the psychological toll of that day as well.”

Sicknick was represented at the ceremony by his parents. Biden thanked those at the ceremony who had lost a family member “for having the courage to be here today.”

Biden spoke against a backdrop of fresh chaos in Congress, where Representative Kevin McCarthy of California is trying to secure a deal with Republican dissenters who have blocked him from being elected speaker. McCarthy on Friday gained support from key holdouts after 13 rounds of voting.

Read more: McCarthy Deal Emerging With Leading Conservative Opponents

The president has repeatedly urged voters to reject Republican candidates beholden to Trump as a threat to the country’s democratic institutions. Many Republicans continue to call Biden’s presidency illegitimate, falsely claiming fraud in the 2020 election.

“America is a land of laws and not chaos, a nation of peace and not violence. We’re not a land of kings and dictators, autocrats and extremists,” Biden said. “As we see in today’s honorees: we’re a nation of ‘we, the people.’”

The House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack recommended last month that Trump be barred from holding public office and charged with federal crimes. Trump has ridiculed the committee and its findings and insists he did nothing wrong.

--With assistance from Justin Sink.

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