最高立法者在周二提出了警察谁在2021年1月6日保卫了国会大厦在袭击发生近两年后，美国国会授予了国会金质奖章，这是国会能够授予的最高荣誉。
对于许多受到表彰的官员来说，圆形大厅仪式标志着自1月6日以来他们第一次回到国会大厦。
伦敦警察厅(Metropolitan Police Department)负责人罗伯特·孔蒂(Robert Contee)说，“成千上万的暴徒发动暴力袭击，试图阻止选举计票，我们中的许多人仍然带着身体、精神和情感上的伤疤。”。“金属杆和其他物体撞击尸体、头盔和盾牌的声音可能仍然响亮——空气中仍然弥漫着熊喷雾和其他化学物质，使我们的官员难以看到和呼吸——要求你的同事受到伤害的呼声就像事情发生的那天一样响亮。”
“但还是有希望的，”孔蒂直接对在场的几十名警察说，“因为逆境带来成长，我们继续共同成长，为我们的社区提供卓越。”
“保卫美国国会大厦将会伴随你的余生和职业生涯。孔蒂说:“不管你的政治派别如何，你都像每天一样做出了回应:毫不犹豫，带着勇气和坚定不移的责任坚持你的誓言。”。“你没有放弃，也没有屈服。”
众议院议长南希·佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)是第一个发表四位国会领导人讲话的人，所有人都在场，这是她最后的领导仪式之一。她回忆说，1月6日——一群暴徒越过执法部门，冲进国会大厦，试图阻止唐纳德·特朗普竞选失败的认证——是“恐怖和心碎的一天”，但也是“非凡的英雄主义时刻”。
佩洛西说:“整整23个月前，我们的国家遭受了自内战以来最令人震惊的民主攻击。”。“面对致命的暴力和可鄙的偏见，我们的执法人员勇敢地站在风口浪尖，确保民主在那黑暗的一天幸存下来。因此，我很荣幸代表美国国会和美国人民，向美国国会大厦警察、大都会警察和1月6日的每一位英雄颁发国会金质奖章。”
美国国会大厦警察局长汤姆·曼格说，对他的警官来说，这是“混乱、勇气、悲惨的损失和决心”的一天
“我特别想表扬做出最大牺牲的警官:布莱恩·西克尼克警官，霍华德·利本古德警官。现在，我还想表彰在2021年4月2日因公殉职的比利·埃文斯警官，当时他在国会大厦外遭到一名独行袭击者的袭击，”曼格说，他指的是在1月6日之后的几天和几个月内牺牲的三名警察。“我很欣赏这样一个事实，即国会承认每一个美国国会大厦警察成员的勇气、力量和韧性——无论是宣誓的还是平民的。”
代表大都会警察局发言的孔蒂感谢“所有投票支持这一认可的人。”尽管参议院去年以口头表决的方式一致通过了授予奖牌的立法，但有21个众议院共和党人投了反对票。
仪式举行之际，民主党人正忙于完成众议院特别委员会近18个月的调查，该委员会正在讨论在共和党人明年1月夺回众议院多数席位之前向司法部提交刑事案件。
有可能成为众议院议长的共和党领袖凯文·麦卡锡已经表示，他不希望看到特别委员会继续存在，而是就导致漏洞的安全漏洞举行听证会。
周二，麦卡锡也加入了称这些警察为“英雄”的行列
“实践保护和服务准则的英雄，从事高尚工作的英雄——太多的人认为这是理所当然的——但像今天这样的日子迫使我们意识到我们欠那条细细的蓝线多少。我们永远感激他们的英雄主义，”麦卡锡说。
布赖恩·西尼克的母亲格拉迪斯·西尼克在与国会领导人握手时，似乎越过了麦卡锡和参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔。她曾游说国会通过立法，成立一个两党特别委员会调查1月6日的事件，但最终被参议院共和党人否决。
在接受记者采访时，她称麦卡锡和麦康奈尔都是“两面派”。
“我只是厌倦了他们站在那里说国会大厦的警察有多棒，然后转身去Mar-A-Lago亲吻他的戒指，然后回来。这只是，这只是伤害，”她说。
麦卡锡在仪式后告诉美国广播公司新闻，“我不知道。当被问及为什么Sicknick的家人没有和他握手时，他说。
麦康奈尔后来在每周新闻发布会上被问及此事时说:“我会回答说，今天我们把金牌给了1月6日的英雄。我们钦佩和尊重他们。他们冒着生命危险。这就是为什么我们今天给1月6日的英雄们颁发了一枚金牌。”
在仪式上的讲话中，麦康奈尔称国会大厦的执法人员为“熟悉的同事”...每天早上我们在路上看到的第一张脸，以及每天晚上我们最后的告别。”
麦康奈尔对在场的官员说:“因为你们兑现了支持和捍卫宪法的誓言，我们也能够兑现我们的誓言。”。“这是一个在23个月前变得尤为明显的现实，但它每天都是真实的。谢谢你支持我们。谢谢你拯救了我们的国家。感谢你们不仅是我们的朋友，也是我们的英雄。”
当乔·拜登总统去年签署立法授予奖牌时，他说其中一枚将被放置在史密森尼博物馆，“以便所有游客都能了解那天发生了什么。”奖牌也将被放置在国会大厦、美国国会大厦警察总部和伦敦警察厅。
“我们不能允许历史被改写，”拜登在去年夏天的一个玫瑰园仪式上说。“我们不能让这些军官的英雄行为被遗忘。我们必须了解发生了什么——诚实而不加掩饰的事实。我们必须面对它。”
Jan. 6 officers awarded Congressional Gold Medals; some family seem to snub Republican leaders
Top lawmakers on Tuesday presented police officerswho defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with Congressional Gold Medals -- the highest honor that Congress can bestow -- nearly two years after the attack.
For many officers honored, the Rotunda ceremony marked the first time since Jan. 6 that they've returned to the Capitol complex.
"Many of us still carry the physical, mental and emotional scars after that mob of thousands launched a violent assault in an attempt to halt the counting of electoral ballots," said Chief Robert Contee of the Metropolitan Police Department. "The sound of metal poles and other objects striking the bodies, helmets and shields may still ring loudly -- the air, still thick with bear spray and other chemicals, making it difficult for our officers to see and breathe -- the calls for your fellow officer to be harmed just as loud as the day that this occurred."
"But there is hope," Contee added, speaking directly to the scores of police present, "because through adversity comes growth, and we continue to grow together and deliver excellence to our community."
"Defending the U.S. Capitol is something that you will carry with you for the rest of your careers and lives. Regardless of your political affiliation, you responded like you do each and every day: without hesitation, with courage and an unwavering duty to uphold your oath," Contee said. "You did not give up, and you did not give in."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in one of her final ceremonial acts in leadership, was the first to deliver remarks of the top four congressional leaders, all of whom were present. She recalled Jan. 6 -- in which a mob overran law enforcement and stormed the Capitol to try and prevent the certification of Donald Trump's election loss -- as a "day of horror and heartbreak" but also a "moment of extraordinary heroism."
"Exactly 23 months ago, our nation suffered the most staggering assault on democracy since the Civil War," Pelosi said. "Staring down deadly violence and despicable bigotry, our law enforcement officers bravely stood in the breach, ensuring that democracy survived on that dark day. So on behalf of the United States Congress and the American people, it is my honor to present the Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police and every hero of Jan. 6."
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said, for his officers, that it was a day "defined by chaos, courage, tragic loss and resolve."
"I especially want to recognize our officers who made the ultimate sacrifice: Officer Brian Sicknick, Officer Howard Liebengood. Now I want to recognize also Officer Billy Evans who was lost in the line of duty on April 2, 2021, when he was attacked outside the Capitol by a lone assailant," Manger said, referring to three police who died in the days and months after Jan. 6. "I appreciate the fact that Congress is acknowledging the courage, the strength and resiliency of each and every member of the United States Capitol Police -- sworn and civilian."
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger receives a medal from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony, honoring the U.S. Capitol Police, the Washington Metropolitan Police, and others who protected the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, Dec. 6, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Contee, speaking for Metropolitan Police, thanked "all that voted in favor of this recognition." While the Senate passed legislation last year to grant the medals unanimously with a voice vote, 21 House Republicans voted against it.
The ceremony arrived as Democrats race to finish a nearly 18-month investigation by a House select committee probing the attack amid discussion of criminal referrals to the Justice Department ahead of Republicans taking back the House majority in January.
Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, the likely incoming House speaker, has signaled he would not like to see the select committee kept in place and, instead, hold hearings about security lapses that led to the breach.
McCarthy, on Tuesday, joined in calling the officers "heroes."
"Heroes who live out the code to protect and serve, heroes who do the noble work -- too many people take that for granted -- but days like today force us to realize how much we owe that thin blue line. We're forever indebted to them for their heroism," McCarthy said.
Gladys Sicknick, the mother of Brian Sicknick, appeared to pass over McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a handshake line with congressional leaders. She had lobbied Congress to pass legislation for a bipartisan select commission to investigate Jan. 6, which Senate Republicans ultimately blocked.
Speaking with reporters, she called both McCarthy and McConnell "just two-faced."
"I'm just tired of them standing there and saying how wonderful the Capitol Police is, and then turn around and go down to Mar-A-Lago and kiss his ring and come back. It just, it just hurts," she said.
McCarthy told ABC News after the ceremony, "I don't know. I was holding something," when asked why Sicknick's family did not shake his hand.
McConnell, later asked about it at his weekly news conference, said, "I would respond by saying today we gave the gold medal to the heroes of Jan. 6. We admire and respect them. They laid their lives on the line. And that's why we gave a gold medal today to the heroes of Jan. 6."
In his remarks at the ceremony, McConnell called law enforcement officers at the Capitol "familiar colleagues ... the first faces we see on our way in each morning and our last goodbyes every night."
"Because you honored your oath to support and defend the Constitution, we were able to honor ours," McConnell told officers present. "That is a reality that was made especially clear 23 months ago, but it is true every single day. Thank you for having our backs. Thank you for saving our country. Thank you for being not just our friends, but our heroes."
When President Joe Biden signed legislation to grant the medals last year, he said that one would be placed at the Smithsonian Museum "so all visitors can understand what happened that day." Medals will also be placed at the Capitol, at the U.S. Capitol Police headquarters and at the Metropolitan Police Department.
"We cannot allow history to be rewritten," Biden said at a Rose Garden ceremony last summer. "We cannot allow the heroism of these officers to be forgotten. We have to understand what happened -- the honest and unvarnished truth. We have to face it."
