US President Joe Biden on Thursday (local time) signed legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the Capitol Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for defending the Capitol on January 6.
Speaking at a White House signing ceremony, Biden said, "Today, I'm going to sign into law the bill you sent to me that awards the Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Capitol Police, the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department, and other law enforcement for their service and defense of our democracy on January 6."
The president described how more than 140 law enforcement were physically injured during the insurrection, others suffered emotional trauma and several have since died.
"It breaks my heart, breaks the heart of the nation, to know that you were assaulted by thousands of violent insurrectionists at the Capitol of the United States of America," Biden said.
The medals will be displayed in four different locations in Washington: the US Capitol Police Department, the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, the Smithsonian Museum and the Capitol building, Biden added.
On January 6, a group of former President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol to protest legislators confirming electoral slates in the 2020 presidential elections from battleground states they thought were invalid.
Trump, who was defeated by current US President Joe Biden, had made a speech among thousands of supporters reiterating his claim that massive voter fraud had robbed his election victory and encouraged supporters to maintain support to "stop the steal."
( With inputs from ANI )
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