Biden commemorates Jan. 6 two years later with first Presidential Citizens Medals
Christian Datoc
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President Joe Biden commemorated the second anniversary of Jan. 6 Friday with a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, where he decried the violence carried out by rioters who attacked the Capitol and “lies about the 2020 election” voiced by former President Donald Trump and his allies.
Biden has made framing the Trump-era GOP as a threat to democracy as a major campaign theme both for Democrats in the midterm elections and his own likely reelection bid.
The president also awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor, to the following 14 “heroes” for their roles on Jan. 6 and in upholding the results of the 2020 election. Friday’s ceremony marked the first time Biden had awarded the Citizens Medal.
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“Folks, these people and the people representing them, what they did is incredibly consequential,” Biden declared. “That’s not political. That’s historical fact.”
After acknowledging each of the recipients at Friday’s ceremony, Biden specifically took a minute to recognize the Capitol police officers who died after the riot.
“For all the families who lost someone, my heart aches for you,” he stated. “And I want to thank you for having the courage to be here today.”
“Eighty-two years ago on this very day in 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his State of the Union speech. This became known as his famous freedom speech,” Biden continued.. “Eighty years ago after that speech on this day, two years ago, we were reminded of the most fundamental thing, democracy itself.”
“defending and protecting our democracy also means that despite our differences of opinion.
And we must say clearly with a united voice, there is no place in America for voter intimidation — zero. Never — and political violence,” he concluded. “That’s completely contrary to the mission of democracy.”
A number of other Democratic lawmakers similarly commemorated Jan. 6 on Friday. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) led a ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol that was attended by the entire Democrat caucus and one Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison also released a statement Friday addressing “threats to our democracy” that “are still present and persistent.”
“There are still extreme MAGA Republicans propagating the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen and elected officials who have tried to whitewash the violence that happened that day,” he wrote. “As Americans, it’s incumbent on all of us to call out these insidious attacks that weaken our democracy. We must never forget what happened on that solemn day, and Democrats stand united in protecting our democracy.”
The president has frequently called back to Jan. 6 in messaging against Trump, who is seeking another term, and radical “MAGA” Republicans. Biden has also praised the work of the P for outlining the “truth” of what happened that day to the American public and conveying how many of those voices are still leading the Republican party.
Following his remarks, Biden awarded the President’s Citizens Medal to the following 14 individuals:
Jocelyn Benson: Michigan’s secretary of state of Michigan during the 2020 election who “faced pressure from those seeking to overturn the election results, including armed protesters outside her home.”
Rusty Bowers: The Arizona House speaker during the 2020 election for “resisting pressure from those seeking to overturn the election results.”
Harry Dunn: A 15-year veteran of the Capitol Police “who defended the Capitol on January 6th, facing racial slurs and harassment from rioters.”
Caroline Edwards: A law enforcement officer injured on Jan. 6. The White House notes that “even after suffering a traumatic brain injury, Officer Edwards worked to prevent rioters from entering the Capitol building.”
Michael Fanone: A former Metropolitan Police Department officer who suffered injuries during the Capitol riot.
Ruby Freeman: An election worker in Fulton County, Georgia, during the 2020 election. “Ms. Freeman worked to ensure that the people of Georgia could vote freely and fairly, and, for simply doing her job, was forced to withstand efforts to overturn the election that targeted and threatened her and her family,” White House officials write.
Aquilino Gonell: An emigrant from the Dominican Republic and U.S. Army veteran who “served as a Capitol Police Sergeant and defended the Capitol on January 6th, suffering injuries during the attack.”
Eugene Goodman: A Capitol Police officer who “is credited with diverting rioters from the floor of the Senate while members were still evacuating” on Jan. 6.
Daniel Hodges: A seven-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department who suffered injuries while defending the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Shaye Moss: An election worker in Fulton County, Georgia, during the 2020 election, who, like her mother, Ruby Freeman, “was subjected to threats and harassment in the wake of the election.”
Al Schmidt: A former federal civil servant who served as a city commissioner on the Philadelphia County Board of Elections who “kept the vote tally going in the face of pressure and efforts to overturn the election” back in 2020.
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Biden also posthumously awarded the Citizens Medal to Brian Sicknick, Jeffrey Smith, and Howard Liebengood former Capitol Police officer who died after the Capitol riot.
Both Smith and Liebengood both died by suicide days after “battling insurrectionists at the Capitol,” according to White House officials. Neither were on the original list of recipients circulated by the White House on Thursday.
You can watch Biden’s Friday remarks in full below.
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