House members-elect, including Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi, who are waiting to be sworn into office amid a contentious election of a speaker, spoke in front of the US Capitol in remembrance of the event and those who helped address it.
“Today, members of the House of Representatives, in a bipartisan way, pause in solemn recognition of the violent attack on the Capitol that occurred two years ago on January 6, 2021,” Jeffries said. “We are joined by the families of several heroic police officers who gave their lives… We are gathered here to honor their memory and acknowledge with deep gratitude the tremendous bravery of the hundreds of officers who defended us at this citadel of democracy that fateful day.”
On January 6, 2021, a crowd of demonstrators in Washington entered the US Capitol without authorization and delayed the certification of 2020 presidential election results by Congress in favor of Biden. Five individuals died in connection with the riot, including one police officer, and approximately 140 other members of law enforcement were injured. Several officers have also since committed suicide.
Hundreds of individuals have been charged, and some prosecuted, with criminal offenses linked to the event.
A House committee was also established during the 117th Congress to investigate the riot. The panel alleged that former President Donald Trump was at the center of an effort to overturn the election results and obstruct the peaceful transition of power.
The committee voted to refer the case against Trump to the Justice Department for potential criminal prosecution, although the referral does not carry legal weight.
Biden is expected to participate in a separate ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of the Capitol riot later on Friday.