President Joe Biden will today mark the anniversary of the insurrection that unfolded at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 with a speech centred around the “truth” of what happened that day.
Mr Biden is scheduled to speak from the Capitol’s Statuary Hall at 9.30am EST on Thursday, one year after a riotous mob armed with chemical spray, stun guns, and other improvised weapons stormed the building in hopes of preventing Congress from certifying his 2020 election victory over former president Donald Trump.
Asked about the content of Mr Biden’s planned remarks earlier this week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki hinted that he will blame Trump for the “chaos and carnage”.
“He is going to speak to the truth of what happened – not the lies that some have spread since – and the peril it posed to the rule of law and our system of democratic governance,” Ms Psaki said.
“He will also ... commemorate the heroes of January 6, especially the brave men and women of law enforcement who fought to uphold the Constitution and protect the Capitol and the lives of the people who were there.
“Because of their efforts, our democracy withstood an attack from a mob and the will of the more than 150 million people who voted in the presidential election was ultimately registered by Congress.
“He will also speak to the work we still need to do to secure and strengthen our democracy and our institutions to reject the hatred and lies we saw on January 6, and to unite our country.”
According to the Fraternal Order of Police, at least 140 US Capitol Police and DC Metropolitan Police officers suffered injuries at the hands of the pro-Trump mob that day.
Three rioters and one Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, died in the immediate aftermath of the attack while several other officers have taken their own lives in the year since.
But Mr Trump, who reportedly watched the violence on television from his West Wing private dining room that day, and many of his allies in the media have consistently downplayed the violence that day.
Previewing the speech on Wednesday, Ms Psaki added: “President Biden has been clear-eyed about the threat that the former president represents to our democracy and how the former president constantly works to undermine basic American values and the rule of law.”
