Nearly five years after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, an official plaque honoring the law enforcement officers who defended Congress is not on display, and its whereabouts are not publicly known, according to an Associated Press report published ahead of the anniversary. The report says the plaque is believed to be in storage, and that House Speaker Mike Johnson has not formally unveiled it.
The Architect of the Capitol, which was responsible for obtaining and displaying the plaque, said it could not comment in light of federal litigation, the report said. The Department of Justice, meanwhile, is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by police officers that asked a court to order the plaque to be displayed as intended.
The episode has left parts of the Capitol complex without the legally required memorial marker. The plaque was intended to be a permanent honor near the Capitol’s west front, where some of the most violent fighting took place as rioters breached the building, the report said. With the official plaque missing, the report described a visible substitute in the form of replica displays outside lawmakers’ offices.
According to the report, about 100 members of Congress, mostly Democrats, mounted poster board-style replicas of the Jan. 6 plaque outside their office doors. One of the replica stand-ins reads, “On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on Jan. 6, 2021,” and adds that the officers’ heroism “will never be forgotten.”
Several lawmakers framed the replica displays as a way to ensure visitors can understand what happened that day. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., said, “That’s why you put up a plaque,” adding that Congress should respect the memory and service of those involved. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said, “There are new generations of people who are just growing up now who don’t understand how close we came to losing our democracy on Jan. 6, 2021,” and said he envisions the Capitol holding tours about what happened so visitors can study it as essential American history.
The report also tied the dispute over the plaque to shifting political recollections of Jan. 6. It noted that at the time, the then-GOP Senate leader described the day as an “insurrection,” while the then-House GOP leader called it his “saddest day,” but said those condemnations have faded. It said some current officials characterize Jan. 6 differently, including former President Donald Trump, who calls it a “day of love,” and Johnson, who was among lawmakers challenging the 2020 election results.
The backdrop for the memorial effort remains the scale of violence and its aftermath. The report said at least five people died in the riot and its aftermath, including Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by police while trying to climb through a window toward the House chamber. It said more than 140 law enforcement officers were wounded, some gravely, and that several died later, some by suicide. It added that about 1,500 people were charged in the Capitol attack and said that when Trump returned to power in January 2025, he pardoned all of them within hours of taking office.
The plaque’s absence is now entangled with legal arguments about implementation. The report said the House speaker’s office issued a statement late Monday saying the statute authorizing the plaque is “not implementable,” and that proposed alternatives “do not comply.” Johnson’s spokesman said if Democrats are serious about commemorating the police, they are free to work with the appropriate committees to develop a framework for proper vetting and consideration.
Lawmakers approved the plaque in March 2022 as part of a broader government funding package, the report said. It said the resolution stated the U.S. “owes its deepest gratitude to those officers,” and described instructions for a plaque listing the names of officers “who responded to the violence that occurred,” with a one-year deadline for installation at the Capitol. The report said two officers who fought the mob sued over the delay in the summer of 2022.
In their lawsuit, the report said officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges argued that refusing to display the plaque encourages “rewriting of history,” writing: “By refusing to follow the law and honor officers as it is required to do, Congress encourages this rewriting of history.” It said the Justice Department is seeking to have the case dismissed and that Justice Department attorneys wrote that it was “implausible” to suggest installation of the plaque would stop the alleged death threats the officers say they received. The report also said the department argued the plaque is required to include the names of “all law enforcement officers” involved in the response, which it said could include some 3,600 people.
While official memorials have stalled, lawmakers have continued using replicas and other means to mark the anniversary. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said, “Think about the dates in American history that we know only by the dates: There’s the 4th of July. There’s December 7th. There’s 9/11. And there’s January 6th.” She added, “They really saved my life, and they saved the democracy and they deserve to be thanked for it.”
The report said the political calendar around Jan. 6 remembrance remains unsettled, with fewer bipartisan events as time passes. It said Democrats will reconvene members of the Jan. 6 committee for a Tuesday hearing on “ongoing threats to free and fair elections,” with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries announcing the session. It said Republicans are unlikely to participate.
The report also said the Republican leadership under Johnson has tapped Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia to lead a separate special committee aimed at uncovering what Johnson calls the “full truth” of what happened. Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., said lawmakers should “stop this silliness of trying to whitewash history — it’s not going to happen,” and argued that without the official plaque, replicas have become the main public reminders. “I was here that day so I’ll never forget,” he said, adding, “Instead of one plaque … they’ve now got 100.”