Jan. 6 'heroes' honored for defending Capitol from Trump mob

WASHINGTON (AP) — Law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 were honored Tuesday with Congressional Gold Medals, praised as “heroes” for securing democracy when they fought off a brutal and bloody attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened an emotional ceremony, tensions still raw in the stately Capitol Rotunda, which was overrun that day when Trump supporters roamed the halls trying to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's election.

“January 6 was a day of horror and heartbreak; it is also a moment of extraordinary heroism —staring down deadly violence and despicable bigotry,” Pelosi said.

In bestowing Congress' highest honor, Pelosi praised the heroes for “courageously answering the call to defend our democracy in one of the nation’s darkest hours.”

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said: “Thank you for having our backs. Thank you for saving our country. Thank you for not only being our friends, but our heroes.”

But showing the raw political and emotional fallout from the insurrection and its aftermath, representatives of one of the medal recipients — the family of fallen officer Brian Sicknick — declined to shake hands with the Republican leaders, snubbing McConnell's outstretched palm.

To recognize the hundreds of officers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, the medals will be placed in four locations — at U.S. Capitol Police headquarters, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Capitol and the Smithsonian Institution. In signing the legislation last year, Biden said that one will be placed at the Smithsonian museum “so all visitors can understand what happened that day.”

Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said for some officers Tuesday was their first time visiting the...