Police sue over Jan. 6 plaque to honor law enforcement, missing from the Capitol

Police officers are suing because the January 6th memorial honoring law enforcement remains hidden by Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP lawmakers who don't want to acknowledge their bravery during the January 6th riot.   It's ironic that the political party that bragged about being the "law and order party" decided to hide the Capitol Building January 6th plaque dedicated to law enforcement. All because they don't want to admit it was an action to overtake our government, by the felon.  

A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot hangs outside the office of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

This Jan. 6 plaque was made to honor law enforcement Never Posted at Capitol, Police suing

By LISA MASCARO, Assocaited Press, January 5, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — Approaching the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the official plaque honoring the police who defended democracy that day is nowhere to be found.

It’s not on display at the Capitol, as is required by law. Its whereabouts aren’t publicly known, though it’s believed to be in storage.

A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot hangs outside the office of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has yet to formally unveil the plaque. And the Trump administration’s Department of Justice is seeking to dismiss a police officers’ lawsuit asking that it be displayed as intended. The Architect of the Capitol, which was responsible for obtaining and displaying the plaque, said in light of the federal litigation, it cannot comment.

Determined to preserve the nation’s history, some 100 members of Congress, mostly Democrats, have taken it upon themselves to memorialize the moment. For months, they’ve mounted poster board-style replicas of the Jan. 6 plaque outside their office doors, resulting in a Capitol complex awash with makeshift remembrances.

Police sue over Jan. 6 plaque, DOJ seeks to dismiss

The speaker’s office said in a statement late Monday the statute authorizing the plaque is “not implementable” and proposed alternatives also “do not comply.” Johnson’s spokesman said if Democrats are serious about commemorating the police, they’re free to work with the appropriate committees to develop a framework for proper vetting and consideration.

Lawmakers approved the plaque in March 2022 as part of a broader government funding package. The resolution said the U.S. “owes its deepest gratitude to those officers,” and it set out instructions for an honorific plaque listing the names of officers “who responded to the violence that occurred.” It gave a one-year deadline for installation at the Capitol.

This summer, two officers who fought the mob that day sued over the delay.

“By refusing to follow the law and honor officers as it is required to do, Congress encourages this rewriting of history,” said the claim by officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges. “It suggests that the officers are not worthy of being recognized, because Congress refuses to recognize them.”