Among them were an activist who campaigned to legalise same-sex marriage in the US, a military doctor who improved battlefield trauma care, and a civil rights leader who laid the groundwork for desegregation.
“ The most important title in America is not president but citizen. It is ‘We the people,’” Biden said, quoting the preamble to the US Constitution. “ These are the words of the rock upon which this entire nation has been built.”
But a couple of the former legislators honoured were explicitly praised for their work on a committee in the House of Representatives charged with probing the January 6 attack.
One recipient was the committee chair, Democrat Bennie Thompson of Louisiana. The second was his vice chair, former Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
Extended applause welcomed Cheney to the stage at the White House on Thursday, as an announcer praised her “for putting the American people over party”. Thompson, meanwhile, was hailed for his “lifelong dedication to safeguarding our Constitution”
Thousands of his supporters then travelled several blocks west to the US Capitol, where they attacked law enforcement and broke into the building while Congress was certifying the election results.
Lawmakers were evacuated, and rioters were heard to chant threats like, “Hang Mike Pence,” a reference to the vice president who was overseeing the vote certification.
As of November 2024, the US Justice Department reported that 1,561 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the riot. A total of 645 were sentenced to incarceration.
The agency noted that firearms, tasers, knives, axes and pepper spray were among the weapons the rioters brought into the Capitol during the January 6 attack.
Biden has previously awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to Capitol police officers and election workers who received threats in the wake of the 2020 vote, including Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss.
“ I’ve been honoured to present law enforcement officers who defended our Capitol on January 6th and the state and local election officials, elected leaders, who defended the
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