> At a Glance
> – The official plaque honoring police who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 is missing five years later
> – House Speaker Mike Johnson has not unveiled it; DOJ wants a related lawsuit dismissed
> – 100 lawmakers now display DIY replicas outside their offices
> – Why it matters: Without the plaque, visitors find no formal reminder of the attack, fueling competing narratives
Five years after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the bronze plaque Congress ordered to honor defending officers is nowhere in sight. Instead, poster-board copies line the hallways as lawmakers feud over how-or whether-to remember the day.
The Missing Memorial
Congress voted in March 2022 to place a permanent plaque near the Capitol’s west front, listing every officer who responded. The law gave officials one year to install it. The marker never appeared.
- The Architect of the Capitol says it cannot comment because of ongoing litigation
- The Trump Justice Department is asking a court to dismiss a suit brought by two officers demanding the plaque be displayed
- Speaker Johnson’s office, which controls the unveiling, has offered no timeline
Officers Turn to Court
Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges, both injured while repelling rioters, sued this summer. They argue Congress is ignoring its own law and dishonoring police by keeping the plaque hidden.
DOJ attorneys counter that hanging the plaque would not stop alleged death threats the officers face and note the requirement to list roughly 3,600 names complicates production.
> “By refusing to follow the law and honor officers as it is required to do, Congress encourages this rewriting of history,” the officers’ claim states.
DIY Remembrance
With the official plaque in storage-location undisclosed-about 100 mostly Democratic lawmakers have printed replicas and taped them outside their offices.
Rep. Jamie Raskin wants future Capitol tours to include Jan. 6 history. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who displays a copy, calls the date one every American should know alongside July 4 and 9/11.
Competing Histories
Memory of the riot is fracturing along partisan lines:
- Republicans, led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, plan a hearing to offer what Speaker Johnson calls the “full truth”
- Democrats will reunite their Jan. 6 committee Tuesday to examine “ongoing threats to free and fair elections”
- President Trump, who pardoned 1,500 convicted rioters in January 2025, now calls the day a “day of love”
Key Takeaways
- A 2022 law mandates the plaque; it has never been installed
- Two officers are suing to force display; DOJ seeks dismissal
- DIY replicas now serve as the only public reminders in the Capitol
- Competing hearings this month highlight deepening partisan divide over Jan. 6
Unless Speaker Johnson acts, the makeshift paper memorials will remain the only tribute inside the building the mob tried to storm five years ago.
