WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden conferred high honors Friday on those who stood against the Jan. 6 Capitol mob two years ago and the menacing effort in state after state to upend the election, declaring “America is a land of laws, not chaos,” even as disarray rendered Congress dysfunctional for a fourth straight day.
Democrats at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue commemorated the police officers attacked that day and the local election workers and state officials who faced fierce intimidation from supporters of former President Donald Trump, who fought to keep him in office after his defeat.
Patrick Semansky
Gladys Sicknick and Charles Sicknick, mother and father of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, look at the Presidential Citizens Medal that President Joe Biden posthumously awarded to their son during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
“Our democracy held,” Biden said in awarding Presidential Citizens Medals to about a dozen recipients from across the country in the White House East Room. “We the people did not flinch.”
Yet democracy’s vulnerability was equally on display at the Capitol as Republicans struggled to break their stalemate over the next House speaker, leaving that chamber in limbo for what should have been the first week under a GOP majority.
A resolution to the immediate crisis may be near as GOP leadership continued negotiations to appease its hard-right flank. Rep. Kevin McCarthy flipped more than a dozen colleagues to support him in his quest to lead the chamber, finally showing progress but still short of a majority.
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House Select Committee via AP
From the "Big Lie" of Trump's November 2020 election night claims of a stolen election to the bloody Jan. 6, 2021, siege, the report spells out the start and finish of the mob attack that played out for the world to see.
It details how Trump and his allies engaged in a "multi-part" scheme to overturn Joe Biden's presidential election victory — first through court challenges, then, when those failed, by compiling slates of electors to challenge Joe Biden's victory.
As Congress prepared to convene Jan. 6 to certify the election, Trump summoned a mob to Washington for his "Stop the Steal" rally at the White House.
"When Donald Trump pointed them toward the Capitol and told them to 'fight like hell,' that's exactly what they did," Thompson wrote. "Donald Trump lit that fire. But in the weeks beforehand, the kindling he ultimately ignited was amassed in plain sight."
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AP file
After blockbuster public hearings, the report and its accompanying materials are providing more detailed accounts of key aspects of the Trump team's plan to overturn the election, join the mob at the Capitol and, once the committee began investigating, pressure those who would testify against him.
Among dozens of new witness transcripts was Thursday's release of a previously unseen account from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson (pictured) detailing a stunning campaign by Trump's allies encouraging her to stay "loyal" as she testified before the panel.
The report said the committee estimates that in the two months between the November election and the Jan. 6 attack, "Trump or his inner circle engaged in at least 200 apparent acts of public or private outreach, pressure, or condemnation, targeting either State legislators or State or local election administrators, to overturn State election results."
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House Select Committee via AP
The report also details Trump's inaction as his loyalists were violently storming the building.
One Secret Service employee testified to the committee that Trump's determination to go to the Capitol put agents on high alert.
"(We) all knew ... that this was going to move to something else if he physically walked to the Capitol," a unidentified employee said. "I don't know if you want to use the word 'insurrection,' 'coup,' whatever. We all knew that this would move from a normal democratic ... public event into something else."
Once the president arrived back at the White House after delivering a speech to his supporters, he asked an employee if they had seen his remarks on television.
"Sir, they cut it off because they're rioting down at the Capitol," the staffer said, according to the report.
Trump asked what that meant, and was given the same answer. "Oh really?" Trump then asked. "All right, let's go see."
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AP
The report makes 11 recommendations for Congress and others to safeguard American democracy and its tradition of the peaceful transfer of presidential power from one leader to the next.
The first, an overhaul of the Electoral Count Act, is on its way to becoming law in the year-end spending bill heading toward final passage this week in Congress.
The committee also made recommendations to the Justice Department to prosecute Trump and others for conspiracy to commit fraud on the public, and other potential charges. It also referred the former president for prosecution for "assisting and providing aid and comfort to an insurrection."
Other changes may be within reach or prove more elusive. Among them, the report recommends beefing up security around key congressional events, overhauling oversight of the Capitol Police and enhancing federal penalties for certain types of threats against election workers.
One recommendation is for Congress to create a formal mechanism to consider barring individuals from public office if they engage in insurrection or rebellion under the Fourteenth Amendment. It holds that those who have taken an oath to support the Constitution can be disqualified from holding future federal or state office if they back an insurrection.
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AP file
The Jan. 6 committee was created after Congress rebuked an effort to form an independent 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack. Republicans blocked the idea.
Instead, Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the House to form the committee. In her foreword to the report, she said it "must be a clarion call to all Americans: to vigilantly guard our Democracy."
Led by Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the panel's work is intended to stand as a record for history of what happened during the most serious attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812.
Five people died in the riot and its aftermath, including Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter shot and killed by police, and Brian Sicknick, a police officer who died the day after battling the mob.
Cheney noted the committee decided most of its witnesses needed to be Republicans — the president's own team and allies. In the report's foreword, she wrote that history will remember the "bravery of a handful of Americans" and those who withstood Trump's "corrupt pressure."
For all of them, the committee and report held personal weight.
Thompson, a Black leader in Congress, noted that the iconic U.S. Capitol, built with enslaved labor, "itself is a fixture in our country's history, of both good and bad ... a symbol of our journey toward a more perfect union."
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J. Scott Applewhite
From left to right, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., are seated as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Andrew Harnik
Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 9, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Jose Luis Magana
People gather in a park outside of the U.S. Capitol to watch the Jan. 6 House committee investigation in Washington, Thursday, June 9, 2022, as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol holds the first in a series of hearings laying out its findings. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Andrew Harnik
U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn, right, consoles Sandra Garza, the long-time partner of fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, center, as a video of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is played during a public hearing of the House select committee investigating the attack is held on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 9, 2022, in Washington. Serena Liebengood, widow of Capitol Police officer Howie Liebengood, reacts at left. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Andrew Harnik
Serena Liebengood, widow of Capitol Police officer Howie Liebengood, cries as a video of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is played during a public hearing of the House select committee investigating the attack is held on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 9, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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J. Scott Applewhite
Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., stand together during a break as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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J. Scott Applewhite
U.S. Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards, left, and British filmmaker Nick Quested, are sworn in as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Andrew Harnik
U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn, right, and others react as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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J. Scott Applewhite
An image of a mock gallows on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6th is shown as committee members from left to right, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., look on, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Andrew Harnik
A video showing former White House Advisor Ivanka Trump speaking during an interview with the Jan. 6 Committee is shown at the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, hearing Thursday, June 9, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Andrew Harnik
Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, on Capitol Hill, Monday, June 13, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
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Susan Walsh
A video of former President Donald Trump speaking is displayed as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Jonathan Ernst
Former Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt is sworn in as a hearing by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues, Monday, June 13, 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP)
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Susan Walsh
Benjamin Ginsberg, Washington attorney and elections lawyer, left, BJay Pak, former U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, center, and Al Schmidt, former city commissioner of Philadelphia, are sworn in to testify as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Susan Walsh
Michael Luttig, a retired federal judge, testifies as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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J. Scott Applewhite
Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speak as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol takes a break at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 16, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Susan Walsh
Greg Jacob, who was counsel to former Vice President Mike Pence, testifies as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Patrick Semansky
Retired U.S. Appeals Court Judge J. Michael Luttig, prepares to depart after testifying before a House select committee hearing investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Jacquelyn Martin
Chairman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., is reflected in a cell phone as he talks with the media after a hearing of the committee, Thursday, June 16, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Jacquelyn Martin
Rusty Bowers, Arizona state House Speaker, from left, Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State, and Gabe Sterling, Georgia Deputy Secretary of State, arrive as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Jacquelyn Martin
Rusty Bowers, Arizona state House Speaker, testifies as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Jacquelyn Martin
Gabe Sterling, Georgia Deputy Secretary of State, testifies as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Jacquelyn Martin
Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, a former Georgia election worker, is comforted by her mother Ruby Freeman, right, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Doug Mills
Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., swears in witnesses from left, former Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel Steven Engel, former Acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, as they prepare to testify as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues, Thursday, June 23, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. ( Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
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Jacquelyn Martin
Jeffrey Rosen, former acting Attorney General, testifies as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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J. Scott Applewhite
U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, from left, former Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone, actor Sean Penn, Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges and U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn listen as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Jacquelyn Martin
Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, is sworn in to testify as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Jacquelyn Martin
Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testifies about how former President Donald Trump reacted in his vehicle after being told he was not able to go to the Capitol from the Ellipse on Jan. 6, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Patrick Semansky
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., carries notes as he speaks with members of the press after Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified before a House select committee hearing investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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J. Scott Applewhite
A video of former White House counsel Pat Cipollone is shown as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Patrick Semansky
Sarah Matthews, former White House deputy press secretary, arrives as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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J. Scott Applewhite
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., left, and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., arrive as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Patrick Semansky
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Jose Luis Magana
Rioters scale a wall at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Julio Cortez
Supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump attend a rally on the Ellipse near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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John Minchillo
Trump supporters participate in a rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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John Minchillo
Trump supporters participate in a rally Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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Jacquelyn Martin
Then-President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to speak at a rally in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Evan Vucci
People listen as then-President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Julio Cortez
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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Julio Cortez
A supporter of then-President Donald Trump is injured during clashes with police at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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Jose Luis Magana
A rioter pours water on herself at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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John Minchillo
A Trump supporter holds a Bible as he gathers with others outside the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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John Minchillo
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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John Minchillo
A demonstrator supporting then-President Donald Trump, is sprayed by police, Jan. 6, 2021, during a day of rioting at the Capitol.(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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John Minchillo
Rioters try to enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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Andrew Harnik
U.S. Capitol Police try to hold back rioters outside the east doors to the House side of the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Andrew Harnik
Rioters gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Andrew Harnik
Protesters gather outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Manuel Balce Ceneta
Jacob Anthony Chansley, center, with other insurrectionists who supported then-President Donald Trump, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber in the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Chansley, was among the first group of insurrectionists who entered the hallway outside the Senate chamber. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Andrew Harnik
U.S. Capitol Police hold rioters at gun-point near the House Chamber inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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J. Scott Applewhite
Lawmakers evacuate the floor as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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J. Scott Applewhite
Police with guns drawn watch as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Andrew Harnik
Congressmen shelter in the House gallery as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Andrew Harnik
Members of Congress wear emergency gas masks as they are evacuated from the House gallery as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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J. Scott Applewhite
The House gallery is empty after it was evacuated as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Andrew Harnik
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021, after rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Julio Cortez
Members of the DC National Guard surround the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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J. Scott Applewhite
Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., read the final certification of Electoral College votes cast in November's presidential election during a joint session of Congress after working through the night, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)
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John Minchillo
A flag hangs between broken windows after then-President Donald Trump supporters tried to break through police barriers outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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Andrew Harnik
A flag that reads "Treason" is visible on the ground in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021, after rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Andrew Harnik
An ATF police officer cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021, after rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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John Minchillo
Fencing is placed around the exterior of the Capitol grounds, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 in Washington. The House and Senate certified the Democrat's electoral college win early Thursday after a violent throng of pro-Trump rioters spent hours Wednesday running rampant through the Capitol. A woman was fatally shot, windows were bashed and the mob forced shaken lawmakers and aides to flee the building, shielded by Capitol Police. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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Matt Rourke, Associated Press
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, members of Congress and family of fallen officers pause for a moment of silence Friday in Washington on the second anniversary of the violent insurrection at the Capitol.
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Matt Rourke, Associated Press
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a ceremony marking the second anniversary Friday of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump in Washington.
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Matt Rourke
Serena Liebengood, center right, widow of U.S. Capitol Police officer Howard Liebengood, embraces Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., on the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Jose Luis Magana
Incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accompanied by from left, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., incoming House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., along with members of Congress and family of fallen officers, pauses for a moment of silence during a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Matt Rourke
Shannon Terranova, the ex-wife of U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, embraces her daughter Abigail Evans during a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. William "Billy" Evans was killed in an attack near the Senate side of the Capitol building, where he was manning a barricade in April 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Matt Rourke
Logan Evans, the son of U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, meets with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Matt Rourke, Associated Press
The Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould, left, gathers with other Christian leaders for a prayer vigil Friday on Capitol Hill in Washington to mark the second anniversary of the Capitol riot.
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Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press
Supporters of former President Donald Trump protest Friday outside the Supreme Court on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
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Patrick Semansky
President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and to award Presidential Citizens Medals to state and local officials, election workers and police officers for their "exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens" in upholding the results of the 2020 election and fighting back the Capitol mob. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Patrick Semansky
Gladys Sicknick and Charles Sicknick, mother and father of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, look at the Presidential Citizens Medal that President Joe Biden posthumously awarded to their son during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Patrick Semansky
President Joe Biden awards the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, to former Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Patrick Semansky
Former Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers, left, speaks with U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and to award Presidential Citizens Medals to state and local officials, election workers and police officers for their "exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens" in upholding the results of the 2020 election and fighting back the Capitol mob. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Hours earlier, lawmakers held a moment of silence to commemorate the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the building that drew mostly Democrats, with brief remarks from Democratic leaders past and incoming — Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries — and none from the GOP.
The event was focused on the Capitol Police officers who protected the building that day and families of law enforcement officers who died after the riot. Jeffries said 140 officers were seriously injured and “many more will forever be scarred by the bloodthirsty violence of the insurrectionist mob. We stand here today with our democracy intact because of those officers.”
At the White House ceremony, Biden described the violence in evocative and at times graphic detail — the officer speared by a flagpole flying the American flag, the beatings, the bloodshed and racist screams from rioters who professed to be pro-law enforcement as they overran police and hunted for lawmakers.
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, members of Congress and family of fallen officers pause for a moment of silence Friday in Washington on the second anniversary of the violent insurrection at the Capitol.
“Sick insurrectionists,” he said. “We must say clearly with a united voice that there is no place … for voter intimidation or election violence.”
Although the horrors of that day came down on members of both parties, it is being remembered in a largely polarized fashion now, like other aspects of political life in a divided country.
Biden, in his afternoon remarks, played up the heroism of the honorees, whether in the face of the violent Capitol mob or the horde of Trump-inspired agitators who threatened election workers or otherwise sought to overturn the results.
But he couldn’t ignore warning signs that it could happen again.
In the midterms, candidates who denied the outcome of 2020’s free and fair election were defeated for many pivotal statewide positions overseeing elections in battleground states, as were a number of election deniers seeking seats in Congress.
Yet many of the lawmakers who brought baseless claims of election fraud or excused the violence on Jan. 6 continue to serve and are newly empowered.
Trump’s 2024 candidacy has been slow off the starting blocks, but his war chest is full and some would-be rivals for the Republican presidential nomination have channeled his false claims about the 2020 race.
And several lawmakers who echoed his lies about a stolen election at the time have been central in the effort to derail McCarthy’s ascension to speaker — unswayed by Trump’s appeals from afar to support him and end the fight.
The protracted struggle leaves the House leaderless, unable to pass bills and powerless to do much more than hold vote after vote for speaker until a majority is reached. Everything from national security briefings to helping their constituents navigate the federal bureaucracy is on pause because the members-elect can’t yet take their oath of office.
Some Democrats see a throughline from Jan. 6.
The chaos of the speaker’s election “is about destruction of an institution in a different way,” said Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, one of the lawmakers who fled the rioters two years ago.
Then, the insurrectionists trapped some lawmakers in the House chamber but never breached it. They held up national business for hours that day.
Now some have felt trapped in the same chamber by the repeated, fruitless votes for speaker and House business is held up for this week and perhaps longer.
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a ceremony marking the second anniversary Friday of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump in Washington.
“The stream of continuity here is extremism, elements of Trumpism, norms don’t matter,” says Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois. “It’s not about governing, it’s about pontificating and advocating an extremist point of view.”
Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire said, “It is a very small minority who want to throw this institution into chaos.”
At least nine people who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, died during or after the rioting, including a woman who was shot and killed by police as she tried to break into the House chamber and three other Trump supporters whom authorities said suffered medical emergencies.
Two officers, Howard Liebengood of the Capitol Police and Jeffrey Smith of the Metropolitan Police, were at the Capitol that Jan. 6 and died by suicide in the days following the attack. Biden honored both Friday with posthumous medals.
A third officer, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, collapsed and died after engaging with the protesters. A medical examiner later determined he died of natural causes.
The Metropolitan Police announced months later that two more of their officers who had responded to the insurrection, Kyle DeFreytag and Gunther Hashida, had also died by suicide.
On Capitol Hill, the mostly Democratic lawmakers held a 140-second moment of silence in honor of those officers as some of their families said their names and a bell was rung in their honor.
“I wish we didn’t have to be here,” said Ken Sicknick, brother of Brian Sicknick, after the ceremony.
