WASHINGTON — Visitors to the Capitol will now have a visible reminder of the violent attack against the building on Jan. 6, 2021, and the officers who fought and were injured that day.
Steps from the Capitol's West Front and where the worst of the fighting occurred, workers quietly installed a plaque honoring the officers three years after it was required by law to be erected. The plaque was placed on the Senate side of the hallway because the Senate voted unanimously in January to install it after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., delayed putting it up.
"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," the plaque says. "Their heroism will never be forgotten."
A plaque honoring police service on Jan. 6, 2021, is seen Saturday at the Capitol in Washington.
The Washington Post first reported the installation of the plaque, which was witnessed by a reporter about 4 a.m. ET Saturday.
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Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., led the effort to install it as he commemorated the fifth anniversary of the attack and described his memories of hearing people break into the building. "We owe them eternal gratitude, and this nation is stronger because of them," he said of the officers who were overwhelmed by thousands of President Donald Trump's supporters and eventually pushed them out of the building.
The mob of rioters who violently pushed past police and broke in echoed Trump's false claims of a stolen election after the Republican was defeated by Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. The crowd stopped the congressional certification of Biden's victory for several hours, sent lawmakers running and vandalized the building before police regained control.
More than 140 officers from the U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department and other agencies were injured.
The fight to have the plaque installed came as Trump returned to office last year and the Republican Congress remained loyal to him. Trump, who called Jan. 6, 2021, a "day of love," tried to blame Democrats and police for the attack.
Capitol tour guides take photos Saturday of a plaque honoring police service on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington.
Congress passed a law in 2022 that set out instructions for the honorific plaque listing the names of officers "who responded to the violence that occurred." It gave a one-year deadline for installation, but the plaque never went up.
After more than a year of silence — and a lawsuit by two of the officers who fought at the Capitol that day — Johnson said at the beginning of the year that there were technical problems with the statute and the plaque could not be erected.
Tillis went to the Senate floor shortly afterward and passed a resolution, with no objections, to place the plaque on the Senate side.
One of the officers who sued, Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, said the lawsuit would continue.
Hodges, who was crushed by the rioters in the heavy doors are steps away from where the plaque is now displayed, said Saturday that the overnight installation was a "fine stopgap" but was not in full compliance of the law. The original statute said all of the officers names should be listed, among other technical specifications.
"The weight of a judicial ruling would help secure the memorial against future tampering," Hodges said. "Our lawsuit persists."
Images of chaos: AP photographers capture US Capitol riot
Rioters scale a wall at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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)
Trump supporters participate in a rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Trump supporters participate in a rally Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Then-President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to speak at a rally in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
People listen as then-President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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)
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)
A rioter pours water on herself at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
A Trump supporter holds a Bible as he gathers with others outside the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/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)
Rioters try to enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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)
Rioters gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Protesters gather outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Members of the DC National Guard surround the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
