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Mike Johnson & the GOP won't install Jan 6 plaque honoring those who protected the Capitol [1]
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Date: 2025-05-24
Three years ago, in 2022, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill. One provision in the act authorized the creation and installation of a plaque honoring the individuals who protected the Capitol from a frenzied mob of rioters and insurrectionists on January 6, 2021. The language reads:
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
The plaque listed the agencies these courageous people represented: The DC Police, Capitol Police, cops from Arlington County, Fairfax County, Montgomery County, Prince William County, Prince George County, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, Metro Transit, Metro Airports, ATF, DHS, HHS, FBI, DoD, National Guard, US Marshals, US Park Police, and the Secret Service.
The plaque was created. But it was never installed. It remains, according to the Washington Post , “sitting in a Capitol basement utility room surrounded by tools and maintenance equipment.” Why?
In January 2023, the 118th Congress convened. The Republicans controlled it. Faced with the choice of honoring American heroes or cowering like cringing dogs, the GOP chose the craven course. Out of fear that Trump would say nasty things, or worse, primary them, the spineless sycophants sat on their hands. They are still kowtowing.
Perhaps I’m being unfair. Maybe there is another reason. When Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries says —
“The reason why the law hasn’t been complied with and a plaque hasn’t been erected is because Republicans, directed by their puppet master Donald Trump, have been told try to erase January 6 as if it has never happened.”
— we shouldn’t rush to judgment without hearing what Speaker Johnson or the other GOP leaders have to say is the reason. Only they are not talking.
The Washington Post asked them and the administration why this tribute to brave Americans is not in a place of honor. Why it instead languishes, surrounded by clean supplies, binders, and bric-a-brac in the Capitol basement. The paper reported their lack of response.
Johnson and several other Republican members of Congress did not reply to emails requesting comment on the assertions made by Democratic members. The White House press office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Installing plaques to honor those who have defended the temple of American democracy has been done before. As WaPo reports:
A plaque of a similar size was installed in the Capitol in 1999 to honor two Capitol Police officers — Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson — who were killed in the line of duty July 24, 1998, when a man with a history of mental illness entered the building and began shooting.
But the present is not the past. Before Trump, the Republicans could occasionally do the right thing (as long as it didn’t involve spending money to help people who hadn’t contributed enough to their campaign accounts). Now, decency has left the GOP — along with the other virtues that underpin a civilized society.
The GOP has long claimed to be the party of law and order. That’s a lie. In the same way, they are lying when they say they are the party of Christian values, family values, and fiscal responsibility. They are not patriots. They are poltroons.
Rep. Joseph Morelle (New York), the ranking Democrat on the House Administration Committee, whose responsibilities include the day-to-day operations of the House, posted a video on Instagram. Here’s a screenshot.
In it, he says:
“Here we are in the basement of the United States Capitol with a plaque that is intended to honor the police who gave their lives on January 6th during the attack on the Capitol. Sadly. Speaker Johnson has chosen not to display it despite an agreement to do that. It’s a beautiful tribute to the men and women who protected the Capitol during the onslaught. And I’m going to continue to urge Speaker Johnson to do the right thing and prominently display this in the United States Capitol for all Americans to see when they visit the sacred grounds that are the United States Capitol.”
It is a pointless ask. Johnson will never do the right thing as long as Trump pulls his strings. And asking the vandals to honor the Capitol’s “sacred grounds” will be a waste of time when they aim to tear down the temple.
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