Biden: History will not forget the courage of the people who saved American democracy in 2021

President Joe Biden attended a ceremony marking the two-year anniversary of the Capitol assault that occurred exactly two years ago, on January 6, 2021. The president called the date “one of the darkest moments in our nation’s history,” thanking law enforcement and election officials who resisted attempts to prevent a peaceful transfer of power to a new president who won the 2020 election for the first time in U.S. history.

Biden presented the Presidential Medals of Civil Merit to 14 Americans directly involved in the events of two years ago. Former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who resisted pressure from Donald Trump’s administration to overturn the 2020 election results in those states, received the awards from the president.

Also receiving medals were Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who led rioters out of the Senate chamber while lawmakers evacuated, and Georgia Election Commission official Ruby Freeman, whom Trump falsely accused of election fraud. Freeman was forced to leave her home last year because of death threats from angry Trump supporters. On Wednesday, Trump criticized Freeman again, mentioning her name in a post he published on his Truth Social network.

The White House added the names of Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood and D.C. Police Officer Jeffrey Smith to the list of honorees. They received the award posthumously because both police officers committed suicide shortly after the Jan. 6 events. Another man also received the award posthumously, Capitol Police Officer Brian Siknick, who died a few days after the attack on the Congressional building. The D.C. Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Siknick died a natural death after suffering a severe stroke caused by the stress of the Capitol riots.

The White House called the honorees “heroes” who showed courage and selflessness at a time of danger to America.

Trump supporters attacked police, broke through barricades and entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to prevent Congress from confirming Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump, who has already announced his intention to run for president in 2024, continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him by massive voter fraud.

Shortly before the riots began, Trump gave a speech in front of the White House in which he urged his supporters to march to the Capitol. In the ensuing riots, five people were killed and more than 140 police officers were injured. Last month, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots said Trump should be criminally charged for his role in instigating the violence.

The White House event provided another opportunity for Biden to denounce the violence of two years ago and to express concern about the threat to democracy in the United States by Trump and the people the former president inspires.

Republicans’ failure to elect a House speaker this week after gaining control of the chamber in November’s midterm elections hinges on a group of ultra-conservative lawmakers, mostly active Trump supporters, many of whom have supported his claims of election fraud in the past.

The fight for the House speaker’s seat has raised questions about Republicans’ ability to run the country with a slim majority in the House. Biden called the drama of the speaker’s election a “shameful” phenomenon.

Speaking at the White House awards ceremony, Biden said that two years ago “our democracy was under attack” and “it was all caused by lies about the 2020 election.” Those in the audience today, Biden said, “embody the best” qualities of Americans.

“History will remember your names. Your courage will not be forgotten. Your bravery will not be forgotten. Your exceptional commitment to your fellow Americans will not be forgotten,” the president added.