WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Approaching the fifth anniversary of , the official plaque who defended democracy that day is nowhere to be found.
It鈥檚 not on display at the Capitol, as is required by law. Its whereabouts aren’t publicly known, though it鈥檚 believed to be in storage.
, a Louisiana Republican, has yet to formally unveil the plaque. And the Trump administration鈥檚 is seeking to dismiss asking that it be displayed as intended. , 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.
鈥淥n behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on Jan. 6, 2021,鈥� reads the faux bronze stand-in for the real thing. 鈥淭heir heroism will never be forgotten.鈥�
Jan. 6 void in the Capitol
In Washington, a capital city lined with monuments to the nation鈥檚 history, the plaque was intended to become a simple but permanent marker, situated near the Capitol鈥檚 west front, where some of took place as rioters .
But in its absence, the missing plaque makes way for something else entirely 鈥� a culture of forgetting.
Visitors can pass through the Capitol without any formal reminder of what happened that day, when stormed the building trying to overturn the Republican’s 2020 reelection defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. With memory left unchecked, it allows new narratives to swirl and revised histories to take hold.
Five years ago, the jarring scene watched the world over was declared by the then-GOP leader of the Senate, while the House GOP leader at the time called it his 鈥渟addest day鈥� in Congress. But those condemnations .
Trump calls it And Johnson, who was among those lawmakers challenging the 2020 election results, is now the House speaker.
鈥淭he question of January 6 remains 鈥� democracy was on the guillotine 鈥� how important is that event in the overall sweep of 21st century U.S. history,鈥� said Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University and noted scholar.
鈥淲ill January 6 be seen as the seminal moment when democracy was in peril?鈥� he asked. Or will it be remembered as 鈥渒ind of a weird one-off?鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 not as much consensus on that as one would have thought on the fifth anniversary,鈥� he said.
Memories shift, but violent legacy lingers
At least five people died in the riot and its aftermath, including Trump supporter , who was fatally shot by police while trying to climb through a window toward the House chamber. More than 140 law enforcement officers were wounded, some gravely, and several died later, some by suicide.
All told, some 1,500 people were charged in the Capitol attack, among the largest federal prosecutions in the nation鈥檚 history. When Trump returned to power in January 2025, he within hours of taking office.
Unlike the twin light beams that commemorated the Sept. 11, 2001, attack or the stand-alone chairs at the Oklahoma City bombing site memorial, the failure to recognize Jan. 6 has left a gap not only in memory but in helping to stitch the country back together.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why you put up a plaque,鈥� said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa. 鈥淵ou respect the memory and the service of the people involved.鈥�
Police sue over Jan. 6 plaque, DOJ seeks to dismiss
The speaker鈥檚 office said in a statement late Monday the statute authorizing the plaque is 鈥渘ot implementable鈥� and proposed alternatives also 鈥渄o not comply.鈥� 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,鈥� and it set out instructions for an honorific plaque listing the names of officers 鈥渨ho responded to the violence that occurred.鈥� 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 by . 鈥淚t suggests that the officers are not worthy of being recognized, because Congress refuses to recognize them.鈥�
The Justice Department is seeking to have . U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and others argued Congress 鈥渁lready has publicly recognized the service of law enforcement personnel” by approving the plaque and displaying it wouldn’t alleviate the problems they claim to face from their work.
鈥淚t is implausible,鈥� the Justice Department attorneys wrote, to suggest installation of the plaque “would stop the alleged death threats they claim to have been receiving.”
The department also said the plaque is required to include the names of “all law enforcement officers” involved in the response that day 鈥� some 3,600 people.
Makeshift memorials emerge
Lawmakers who’ve installed replicas of the plaque outside their offices said it鈥檚 important for the public to know what happened.
鈥淭here are new generations of people who are just growing up now who don鈥檛 understand how close we came to losing our democracy on Jan 6, 2021,鈥� said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the Jan. 6 committee, which was opposed by GOP leadership but nevertheless issued a nearly 1,000-page report investigating the run-up to the attack and the attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
Raskin envisions the Capitol one day holding tours around what happened. 鈥淧eople need to study that as an essential part of American history,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hink about the dates in American history that we know only by the dates: There鈥檚 the 4th of July. There’s December 7th. There鈥檚 9/11. And there’s January 6th,鈥� said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-calif., who also served on the committee and has a plaque outside her office.
鈥淭hey really saved my life, and they saved the democracy and they deserve to be thanked for it,鈥� she said.
But as time passes, there are no longer bipartisan memorial services for Jan. 6. On Tuesday, the Democrats will reconvene members from the Jan. 6 committee for a hearing to 鈥渆xamine ongoing threats to free and fair elections,鈥� House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York announced. It’s unlikely Republicans will participate.
The Republicans under Johnson have tapped Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia to stand up their own special committee to uncover what the speaker calls the 鈥渇ull truth鈥� of what happened. They’re planning a hearing this month.
鈥淲e should stop this silliness of trying to whitewash history — it鈥檚 not going to happen,鈥� said Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., who helped lead the effort to display the replica plaques.
鈥淚 was here that day so I鈥檒l never forget,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that Americans will not forget what happened.”
The number of makeshift plaques that fill the halls is a testimony to that remembrance, he said.
Instead of one plaque, he said, they鈥檝e 鈥渘ow got 100.鈥�
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