The fifth anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, was a study in contrasts for members of Congress.
Inside the Capitol, Democratic members wiped away tears as they shared memories from that day. Outside, a former leader of the Proud Boys and other pardoned rioters staged a rally, waving slogans such as “J6 was a setup.”
Across town, House Republicans gathered at the Kennedy Center for a retreat headlined by President Donald Trump. Congressional Republicans in either chamber did not publicly announce plans or events to commemorate the attack.
At a “special hearing” that lasted four hours, House Democrats said they were trying to “set the record straight” on a violent insurrection carried out by supporters of Trump. They played video footage of the mob that attacked the Capitol, as members in the room leaned on each other or paused to dab their eyes.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries used his opening statement to accuse Trump of unleashing even more violence when he issued sweeping pardons to Jan. 6 rioters. In a report published this week, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee pointed to at least 33 pardoned rioters they said have since been convicted of, charged with or arrested for things like production of child pornography or conspiracy to commit murder of FBI agents.
“It’s been a Trump-inspired crime spree,” Jeffries said.
In the audience were a handful of police officers who were injured on Jan. 6, including Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges, who was crushed against a doorframe by the mob, along with the family of Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer who died soon after the attack.
The hearing was led by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chaired the House select committee that wrapped up its Jan. 6 investigation in 2022, laying much of the blame at Trump’s feet for encouraging his supporters.
“Today’s forum is another step towards the goal of justice,” Thompson said.
Meanwhile, a crowd of about 100 protesters arrived near the West Front of the Capitol just before 2 p.m., after marching from the Ellipse.
Outnumbered at times by police officers, the crowd sported “Trump Was Right About Everything” hats and T-shirts memorializing Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to climb through a broken window leading to an area near the House floor.
Chanting Babbitt’s name and singing along to “God Bless the USA,” the crowd on Tuesday rotated through more than a dozen speakers, who cast her as a martyr and compared the pardon recipients to Job from the Bible.
At one point, Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., approached the protesters and quickly faced a confrontation.
“Next time we won’t be so nice,” one shouted.
“What does that mean?” Suozzi asked.
After protesters cursed at him and called him a traitor, Capitol Police escorted him toward the Capitol. Before heading inside, Suozzi shook hands with an officer.
Enrique Tarrio, who was convicted on seditious conspiracy and other charges but pardoned by Trump, called for retribution against Democrats, prosecutors and others.
“They made an example of us, and we need to make an example of them,” Tarrio said.
At 2:44 p.m., roughly the time Babbitt was shot, her mother and a handful of others approached the Capitol to lay flowers on the steps, before the crowd dispersed.
Inside the Capitol, it was a different story.
Among the speakers at the Democrat-led panel was Pamela Hemphill, a rioter who refused a pardon from Trump and who became known online as MAGA Granny.
“I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart for being part of the mob that put you and so many officers in danger,” she said, addressing officers in attendance. “I will do everything I can to stop the lies about our brave officers like you who protected us there.”
One of the two Republicans who served on the House select committee returned to speak Tuesday, but the voices in the room were overwhelmingly Democratic. At one point, pardoned rioter Adam Villarreal stood up from the audience and asked why the event was so partisan.
“I’m glad you asked. Because no Republicans participated,” Thompson said.
It was an emotional day for some: Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said Tuesday’s event was the first time she’s been able to speak publicly about what she experienced on Jan. 6, while Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said she still keeps the escape hood she wore that day in her office.
As for the White House, it marked the Jan. 6 anniversary with a webpage placing blame on Democrats and Capitol Police for turning “a peaceful demonstration into chaos.”
Later in the day, Democrats held a vigil on the Senate steps in the early evening, before the House returned for its first vote of the year.
And lawmakers continued a drawn-out disagreement over the overdue installation of a plaque honoring law enforcement.
A law passed in March 2022 set out instructions for a plaque listing the names of officers “who responded to the violence that occurred.” It gave a one-year deadline for installation at the Capitol, which has since passed.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., took to the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon with a cardboard replica of the plaque and said he will seek unanimous consent later in the week to address the technicalities that Speaker Mike Johnson has said delayed it from being hung. Instead of the names of all individuals involved, it could then simply show the names of law enforcement agencies, he said.
Tillis has been both a supporter of Trump in the past but also a critic of some of the pardons he has issued to convicted rioters after retaking office.
“The people that led the vanguard, the people that were waving people through, the people that burned the buildings, the people that injured a police officer, leading to the death of an officer, should go to prison for as long as the law allows. And yet, they got loose,” he said.
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