Senate votes to hang plaque honoring Jan. 6 officers after yearslong delay

The Senate agreed Thursday to display a plaque recognizing the police officers who defended the Capitol during the riots on Jan. 6, 2021, a step forward in a yearslong stalemate over a law that required Congress to hang up the plaque by March 2023.

Senators passed by unanimous consent a resolution that orders the Architect of the Capitol to "prominently display" the plaque in a public area on the Senate side of the Capitol building until it can be placed in a more prominent location. The measure was supported by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

Tillis said the plaque may be displayed in the Senate's third-floor public gallery, one area that was ransacked by rioters.

The timeline for when the plaque will be hung is unclear.

Both houses of Congress voted in 2022 to require the honorary plaque to be hung, aiming to honor members of the U.S. Capitol Police and other agencies who faced off against a mob of rioters just over five years ago. Some 140 police officers were injured during the riot, and several died by suicide in the weeks after the attack. The plaque was set to be hung on the western front of the Capitol, the site of some of the most violent attacks on Jan. 6, 2021.

A plaque was ordered, but it was never publicly mounted, drawing years of scrutiny from congressional Democrats and Jan. 6 first responders. 

Two police officers who responded to the riots sued over the issue last year, asking a judge to compel the Architect of the Capitol — who oversees the complex — to display the plaque.

Last month, attorneys for the Justice Department who were representing the Architect of the Capitol asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed. In part, they argued the plaque that had been created was not in compliance with the 2022 law because it listed the police agencies that responded to the Jan. 6 riot rather than every individual police officer who responded.

Thursday's vote marks a symbolic break by Senate Republicans from President Trump. Tillis has repeatedly criticized Mr. Trump for pardoning virtually all Capitol riot defendants, whom the North Carolina Republican has called "thugs."

It also follows opposition by House Speaker Mike Johnson. A spokesperson for the Louisiana Republican said earlier this week, "The statute authorizing this plaque is not implementable."

In remarks Thursday, Tillis called the dispute a "technical implementation problem" raised by House leadership, one that he said lawmakers "can cure pretty quickly if they think it's a concern."

Tillis said on the Senate floor the plaque was intended to recognize "one of the most significant stress tests for this institution since it was founded."

Merkley said in a statement the delay in hanging the plaque was an "egregious insult to all those who were injured defending the Capitol."

"Telling the story about what happened on January 6th requires recognizing the heroism of officers who defended the U.S. Capitol and our democracy itself from violent insurrectionists," Merkley said.