House Democrats, led by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), called on House Republicans to install a legally required plaque honoring the service of law enforcement at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
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00:00D.C. and law enforcement officers from around the United States and around the
00:05world come here to honor those who work every day, who walk the beat, who protect
00:11us in our communities, but also to remember those who we've lost in the
00:16prior year. We are here today, my Democratic colleagues, although
00:22colleagues from both sides of the aisle were invited, to make sure that we do not
00:27forget the heroism that took place just over our shoulders on the Capitol steps
00:32on January 6th. And we're joined by two police officers who worked to defend the
00:39Capitol that day. They were not the only ones, but they embody the bravery that
00:45day in Officer Danny Hodges of the Metropolitan Police Department and
00:49Sergeant Ganell from the Capitol Police Department. We are here to ask the
00:56question, how much more do these officers have to do? What else do they
01:03have to give to be properly honored and to have this plaque, which is two years
01:10overdue, put inside the Capitol to memorialize what happened that day.
01:19Blessed are the peacemakers. They are the children of God. And our Republican
01:25colleagues are very good about talking about backing the blue, but backing the
01:31blue is not a t-shirt. It's not a slogan. It's a deed. And what we see too often is
01:38that they don't back the blue, they back the coup. In some warped way, the heroes
01:46of January 6th, through the acts of President Trump, have become the villains.
01:52And the villains, through the acts of President Trump, have somehow been sold
01:58to the American people as the heroes. But we know the truth. We know what
02:04these officers did, and we know what was done to them. And so in every three act
02:10story, the second act is always the hardest. And that's where we find
02:14ourselves right now, with the president and our Republican colleagues refusing
02:20to honor and acknowledge what these officers did. But there will be a third
02:23act, and it will come soon. And I promise you, in 2027,
02:31in early January, we will not meet out here. We will meet inside, and we will
02:37put this plaque in the Capitol, and it will stay there for all of time to
02:43honor these officers. What more must they do? They shouldn't have to do
02:49another act. It's on us, a Republican Congress and a Republican president, to
02:55act and to honor them. I want to bring up our lead manager from the second
03:02impeachment, where these officers' acts were played out for the country and the
03:08Senate jurors and the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, who also
03:12represents, in his congressional district, many of the officers who were
03:16hurt that day. Our ranking member, Jamie Raskin.
03:22Thank you, Congressman Swalwell, for your leadership on this. It's an honor
03:26to be in the presence of Sergeant Connell, who was forced from the police
03:31force because of severe injuries that were inflicted on him on January 6th,
03:36when he fought valiantly for hours to defend us against the extremists, the
03:41Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and the mob of marauders who stormed the
03:46Capitol. It's an honor to be here with Officer Hodges, who was tortured in
03:51front of the eyes of the world on TV on the West Front when he got caught in
03:56the door and was pummeled by the rioters.
04:00They, along with Officer Dunn and Officer Fanon, have come to represent
04:07hundreds and hundreds of other officers who stood in the breach on
04:10that day and saved us. And to me, it's absolutely unspeakable that the Speaker
04:17of the House would continue not only to disrespect them, but to disrespect the
04:21rule of law by refusing to put this plaque up there. The very final sentence
04:26of the plaque reads something to the effect of, We will never forget. We will
04:30never forget your sacrifice on your service to us. Well, some people have
04:35already forgotten their service and their sacrifice. And in fact, they want
04:40everybody else to forget it. But we are here today because we will never forget
04:44how they stood in the breach to defend not just the Democrats, but the
04:48Republicans and not just the members of the House, but the members of the
04:51Senate and not just members of Congress. But Vice President Pence, as they
04:55chanted, Hang Mike Pence on that day. So I want to again thank them for their
05:00service. We will see to it that future generations of Americans will be able to
05:04regard this plaque and pay you the proper honor for everything you've done.
05:11Thank you. Ranking member Raskin. I'd like to invite up the vice chair of the
05:15Democratic Caucus and a military veteran Ted Lou.
05:21I want to thank former prosecutor and representative Eric Swalwell for
05:25convening this important press conference. During National Police
05:28Week, we're here to honor the police officers that defended our capital on
05:33January six against criminals who assaulted the capital and assaulted law
05:38enforcement officers. We're honored to have law enforcement officers, some of
05:43them here joining us. We're also here to make the very obvious point that
05:47January six will never be forgotten. And why is that? Because we have video of
05:52what happened. We have audio of what happened. The January six mission did a
05:57great job interviewing all the witnesses who were there. I was honored
06:00to serve as an impeachment manager under the lead of representative
06:03Raskin and millions of people watch on live TV what happened on January six. So
06:08no matter how many people Donald Trump pardons, he can never erase this stain
06:13on his legacy and this stain in history. And in fact, the people he pardoned,
06:18some of them went out to commit additional crimes. This is yet a second
06:21stain on Donald Trump's legacy that will never be erased. And both of these
06:25stains are going to get bigger as history goes on. And we're also calling
06:29on republicans to please put up this pack mandate by law to honor those who
06:35protected us on January six. And my message to republicans is, look, if
06:40you're not going to support police officers because of people who attack
06:43them happen to be your supporters, then you really don't support police
06:47officers. You're just being partisan hacks. Please don't be partisan hacks.
06:51Put up this plaque to honor the January six law enforcement officers who
06:56protected this capital. And with that, so honored to introduce bonnie Watson
07:01Coleman, who did an amazing job standing up for courage and for due process in
07:09you work recently at a detention center.
07:13I want to thank my colleague Ted Lewin. I want to thank eric for assembling us
07:17together. Today is a very important day. I think we need to remember that words
07:22don't mean anything if there's not action behind it. So the ready rhetoric
07:27that you hear about republicans supporting um law enforcement is
07:31rhetoric.
07:33I'm glad to be here because I was there on January the sixth. I remember the
07:38terror. I remember hearing it. I was in a room just behind a lot of the uh
07:46chaos that was taking place. But most of all, I remember the bravery of the
07:52capital police officers who gave up their lives eventually and most
07:59assuredly their safety and security to protect us. One of them was eric. I'm
08:04sorry. One of them was brian sick nick from my district. I've met with his
08:08family a number of times. We've been here before you on the triangle just
08:12recognizing his sacrifice and the sacrifice of all of the police officers
08:18that day.
08:19We are here because there is a commitment to honor the bravery of our
08:26capital police by putting up this plaque. This plaque is just a small
08:34gesture of our appreciation. But what it stands for is that we shall never
08:40ever forget. We will always be grateful. I am very grateful for the bravery of
08:46our officers. I will stand with all of my colleagues from now until the time I
08:51have no voice to ensure that we recognize that on January the 26th our
08:58officers stepped up, put their lives at risk. We've lost over 140 police
09:06officers to some degree because of that. But they did it because they
09:10believed in our democracy and they had taken an oath to this office and we
09:16simply want the Republican majority and the president to respond and
09:21respect the oath that they supposedly took as well. Thank you.
09:31Yeah, that's okay. Next is former federal prosecutor and House Judiciary
09:38Homeland Security member Dan Goldman.
09:41Thank you, Congressman Swalwell for convening us. Thank you to my more
09:44senior members for letting me sneak in before, um, a far more important
09:49obligation related to kids than work. Um, but we are here today and I am here
09:56today to call out the incredible hypocrisy of the Republican Party. They
10:02have named this National Police Week, yet they were silent as Donald Trump
10:08pardoned hundreds of people who assaulted police officers, including
10:14two who are bravely here with us today and who have been terrific spokesperson
10:20for all of the officers, more than 140 who were assaulted that day. How can
10:27you be silent when the president pardons people who violently assaulted
10:34police officers and then profess to back the blue?
10:40It's a joke. It's a joke. And so we are here today to emphasize that on
10:47National Police Week, these are the officers that we want to make sure get
10:53the recognition they are due by putting this plaque up as required by law to
10:59signify and commemorate their valiant effort in the face of tremendous
11:05violence that day to protect the capital, to protect the members of
11:09Congress and to protect the vice president of the United States. Now, I
11:14understand the Republicans are afraid to speak out against Donald Trump, but
11:20this is a terrific opportunity for them to do something to honor the officers
11:29who defended them that day. These officers did not choose to defend
11:35Democrats or Republicans. They chose to defend members of Congress and the
11:42hallowed institution of democracy that resides in this building. So my
11:48Republican colleagues, you don't have to speak out against Donald Trump. You
11:53don't have to stand up for these officers to reject and oppose the
12:00egregious pardons that Donald Trump issued on his first day. You can send
12:06the message by following the law and just putting up a plaque to
12:11commemorate what the officers did that day. If you can't even do that, then you
12:18need to erase National Police Week from your vocabulary, and you need to never
12:26ever say again that you back the blue. Thank you.
12:31Thank you, Congressman Goldman. I'd like to introduce House Intelligence
12:36Committee member, military veteran and impeachment manager in the first
12:42impeachment, Jason Crow from Colorado.
12:48Thank you, Eric Swalwell, for pulling us together. My name is Jason Crow
12:52from the great state of Colorado, and it's always an honor to stand with my
12:57colleagues, many of whom were trapped along with me on January 6th in the
13:02House gallery as a riotous mob inspired by Donald Trump attempted to take the
13:08Capitol and overturn our democracy and in the process brutally beat 140 police
13:13officers, five of whom later died because of the visible and invisible
13:18injuries and trauma of that day. Like so many of my colleagues have pointed out
13:24the rank hypocrisy of the House Republicans on this police week. I'm a
13:31combat veteran, and as somebody who served in uniform, there is a
13:36solidarity with people that serve in uniform. Whether you're a police
13:41officer, a sheriff's deputy, a soldier, an airman or a Marine, there's
13:47something about putting on a uniform, a badge, carrying a gun to work and
13:53knowing that to fulfill your responsibility, it might require you
13:58giving your life.
14:01That is a heavy, heavy understanding, and it gives common cause to all of us
14:07who have done that. And those who have done that also know that while we
14:12appreciate sentiment, while we appreciate people thanking us for our
14:16service, you quickly learn that talk is cheap. You quickly learn the difference
14:23between people who actually will follow through, who will be there for you and
14:28your family, who will provide benefits that will actually follow through on
14:32that promise that our country and community make to our people in uniform
14:36and those that simply want to thank you for the service and go about their
14:40day. And unfortunately, that is where we find so many House Republicans on
14:45this police week. As my colleagues pointed out, proposed cuts to grant
14:51programs and federal budgets that flow directly to our police departments and
14:58our sheriff's departments that will have drastic impact on the ability for
15:02them to do their job and to protect themselves and to protect our families
15:05and communities.
15:08In addition to that, something as simple as following through on an actual law
15:13that we passed in 2022 to simply put a plaque up a nonpartisan plaque, thanking
15:22the officers who protected us all of us, regardless of our politics that day and
15:28put so much on the line, and they simply will refuse to do it because
15:33they're afraid of Donald Trump.
15:36We are not lacking in understanding in Capitol Hill. What so many people lack
15:41is simple political courage. I'm not asking my colleagues to storm the
15:46beaches of Normandy. I'm not asking my colleagues to put on a uniform and to
15:51stand in the breach to protect our country or to protect our community. I'm
15:56simply asking them to take the votes they need to take and to have a small
16:01amount of political courage to do the right thing to support those who do the
16:06right thing every day for us. Thank you.
16:11Thank you, Jason. And we all remember who were on the floor that day. What
16:15Jason did to help others in the gallery. I want to invite up my colleague from
16:20Texas, who was on the Judiciary Committee during much of the
16:24accountability days for the former president and current president and now
16:29a member of the Appropriations Committee member from Texas, Veronica
16:32Escobar.
16:34When I started this, I want to thank my colleague Eric Swalwell for bringing us
16:39together to truly honor the heroes who saved our lives that day. And I want to
16:45thank Sergeant Cornell and Officer Hodges for saving our lives. As Eric
16:50mentioned, I was trapped in the gallery that day, along with Jason and other
16:56colleagues. And, in fact, I was among the group that was the last to leave
17:02the gallery and saw firsthand what our officers were going through and the
17:08incredible horror they experienced. A lot of horror and trauma and injury
17:13that they live with today. And this plaque is the bare minimum that
17:20Congress can and should do to honor these heroes. And our debt to them goes
17:27way beyond this plaque, just so that you all know what they've had to endure.
17:33Members of law enforcement who were there that day on January 6th, who had
17:39to retire, who can no longer do the work that was their livelihood, have also
17:46been denied their full benefits, and some have had to resort to GoFundMe
17:52accounts in order to pay their bills and support their family. That should be
17:59despicable to all of us. So when Republicans say they back the blue, why
18:05is it that they just back some of the blue? Why can't they bring themselves to
18:11embrace and support and honor the heroes of January 6th? Is it because
18:18they agree with their colleagues like Marjorie Taylor Greene and their
18:23President Donald Trump, who calls the January 6th insurrectionists and
18:28domestic terrorists and criminals call them martyrs? Do they agree with that?
18:33Do they agree that the January 6th terrorists are martyrs? Do they feel
18:39such obedience that they can't bring themselves to put up a plaque honoring
18:46these heroes? Do they feel such obedience that they can't bring
18:50themselves to provide the full benefits that these heroes have earned? We do. We
18:58stand with them. We are grateful to them. We will not stop fighting for
19:03them, beginning with this plaque, but not ending with this plaque. And I
19:08think the Republican Party and the Republican president should be
19:12answerable to the public and to the law enforcement community as to why this
19:18hypocrisy exists. Thank you so much, Eric. I appreciate you.
19:23I'd like to invite up, uh, colleague, House Intelligence Committee member.
19:29Also, uh,
19:31military veteran Chrissy Houlihan.
19:34Thank you. And thank you, Representative Swalwell for organizing this today.
19:38Listen, there's not much to say that hasn't been said. So what I will say
19:43is I am a military veteran, my father and grandfather as well. Many of my
19:48family served in uniform as Representative Crow said that we have a
19:51certain allegiance and kindred spirit with those who serve us here
19:57domestically. My father, my husband's grandfather was chief of police in the
20:03Chicagoland area, and my mother in law always says we are a nation of law and
20:08order. I'm a law and order gal. She happens to also associate herself
20:13largely with the Republican Party. Law and order is not a partisan issue. This
20:18is a American issue. And if we genuinely believe in law and order, then
20:23we have both on display right now. The police who gave their who gave
20:27everything in many cases to us on January six in defense of this
20:31building, the people within it and the democracy behind it should be honored
20:35in every way possible. And there is literally a law that says that that
20:39would require that we put this this plaque up. They say that history is
20:44written by the winners. We are busy unwriting the history that we all know
20:49happened, whether it's by pardoning those people who committed the crimes
20:54of January six or by refusing to put up the plaque that honors and recognizes
20:58those crimes. We are clearly defining who those winners, so to speak, are.
21:03And what I would say is we are all the losers. If that's what happens, the
21:08American people are the losers, the people who we represent are losers and
21:13the way that we believe in the way of democracy in this republic is losing.
21:17As a result, it takes nothing, literally nothing to do the simplest
21:21of things to follow the law and obey order. Thank you. And I yield back.
21:25Thank you, Chrissy. I want to invite up my colleague from Virginia on the
21:32Ways and Means Committee, but also represents many of the officers who
21:35defended the capital on January six. Don Byer.
21:40Thank you, Eric. I want to really thank Eric Swalwell for putting pulling this
21:44all together and for staying so precisely that instead of backing the
21:50blue, they are backing the coup.
21:53My father was West Point graduate and career military officer, and his
21:58absolute bottom line was always do what's right. That's the first thing.
22:02But I think we're looking now here at a profound moral failure on the part of
22:07the Republican leadership, the Republican leadership, who so often
22:10likes to refer to the Bible and to their faith to guide them. And yet I
22:15cannot imagine a deeper moral failure than refusing to acknowledge the
22:19sacrifice that these men made. Officer Hodge and several Senator Sergeant
22:24Gunnell.
22:25To be personal, three of these police officers I represented the honor
22:29represent Brian Sicknick, who was beaten and tased and, um, had two
22:36strokes and died a few hours later. He clearly died because of the wounds that
22:41he suffered at the hands of these people. Um, Jeff, Jeff Smith, who
22:47suffered a serious brain injury right here, representing all of us. His wife
22:52said he was fundamentally changed in the hours after this event. And, of
22:55course, he took his own life driving to work a day or two later. And Michael
22:59Fanon, who was beaten, tased, suffered a heart attack. He's going through lots
23:03of serious problems ever since that day and many, many more. This was a
23:09bipartisan bill. Dozens of Republicans in the House and Senate voted for this
23:13plaque, and it's just difficult for me to understand how the Speaker of the
23:18House is so afraid of Donald Trump, so afraid of the more extreme members of
23:23his own caucus or so afraid of the evil, bad, mean,
23:29violent people who attacked our noble servants on that day. It's embarrassing,
23:34and I look forward to us rectifying this extreme wrong in the days to come.
23:38Thank you, Don. I'd like to bring up my colleague from Pennsylvania House
23:53Judiciary Committee member Mary Gayskin.
23:58Thank you, Representative Swalwell, for convening us. I want to join all of my
24:02colleagues in thanking Officer Hodges, Sergeant Connell and every one of the
24:08members of the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police, all the numerous
24:11police agencies which responded on January 6 2021 to defend our capital, to
24:18defend the people who work there and to defend our democracy. That is a debt we
24:22can never repay. Our Democratic Republic literally hung in the balance
24:27that day and but for their bravery could have gone another way. So we are
24:32eternally grateful, and it's so important right now. This isn't about
24:36some little sign or anything. This is about a White House and a congressional
24:40majority that is trying to erase facts, trying to erase history and trying to
24:46erase the rule of law and our very Constitution. So this plaque is a way
24:51that we ensure they do not erase it. This was passed into law, as was said in
24:57a bipartisan basis. This isn't just a poster board. This plaque exists. It's
25:02in this building. Republican leadership has stopped the architect of the
25:07Capitol from pulling out a drill and actually mounting the mounting the
25:11plaque on the wall. So this is not just about a plaque. It's about standing up
25:16and refusing to erase facts, refusing to erase history and standing up for the
25:22rule of law. So again, our eternal gratitude to the brave men and women
25:28who stood up for us all all across America here on January 6, 2021. And
25:34we've got work to do. Thank you. Thank you, Mary Gay. I want to invite up is
25:39the member closer, and then we'll hear from the officers. Speaker Emeritus
25:43Nancy Pelosi. Of course, you know her is the speaker who led us back to the
25:48floor on January six as quickly as we could. Once the officers had cleared the
25:53Capitol, the speaker who led us to the second impeachment of Donald Trump. But
25:59I want to tell you personally, because I've seen this in many private
26:02settings, the number of times that she has sat down and met with the officers
26:06who are standing with me and many others who you have never seen. She is
26:11committed to these officers. I've also seen her in a room where Michael
26:17Fanon broke the world record for most F bombs dropped in the Speaker's office,
26:20and, uh, she loves him as much as all of the other officers. But her care and
26:27commitment to these officers, uh, is, uh, unlimited. And so I want to bring
26:32up our speaker to close us out for the members. Uh, Speaker Emeritus Nancy
26:36Polis.
26:39Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr Swallow. I'll join our colleagues and
26:43thank you for bringing us together on this for this very important initiative.
26:49You have, as you have mentioned, spent a good deal of time with the police
26:55officers. You have been a real champion and keeping all of this going and again
27:01bringing us together. And as Mary Kay said, this isn't about a plaque. It's
27:07about a decision that was made to ignore, ignore the recognition that
27:13Congress in 2022 voted in a bipartisan way. The recognition to to our police
27:22officers, Officer Hodges, Sergeant Gunnell. Thank you. Thank you and your
27:27colleagues for what you did that day.
27:31I just want to back up for a moment to say what happened that day. That day at
27:36this capital, we had an assault on the Constitution of the United States, an
27:43assault on the Congress of the United States and an assault on the capital of
27:48the United States. It was one that came with such fierce and and
27:56defecation. If I just may say how awful it was with disrespect for the workers
28:02of the capital who keep it so lovely for visitors and safe. And then at the
28:09instigation of the president of the United States,
28:14they caused an insurrection right here in the capital. And they are trying to
28:19rewrite history, a different narrative than what happened. Why the
28:24Constitution? Because that was the day we were by law supposed to. And we did
28:31accept the the numbers from the
28:37the
28:40the car. Yeah.
28:43Yeah. Electoral College. It's just it was so emotional for us because this is
28:50what our responsibility was to accept those numbers from the Electoral
28:54College. They did everything in their power, try to steal the boxes and all
28:58the rest. It was a hopeless thing for them. But that was why they came that
29:02day. It wasn't just any day. It was Electoral College day. Okay, so we have
29:08that
29:09the Constitution said that they came that day. The Congress of the United
29:15States was charged to do that. And this was an assault to make sure we couldn't
29:21do that. And the capital, the capital, this dome built by Abraham Lincoln.
29:28And during the Civil War, during the Civil War, people said, Mr. President,
29:34you need the steel and the person power to fight the war. He said, No, we must
29:38show the world we are resilient. And it continued the construction of this dome
29:43to see that don't be smirched by people coming in with flags from, I don't know,
29:50Nazi flag, any kind of flag that was counter to what we believe in as our
29:54country and an insult to Abraham Lincoln. In addition, in addition to
29:59the Congress, the Constitution and, uh, our people who are here. So let's not
30:07let them rewrite history. They're doing this as a counter narrative to the
30:13truth because they can't face the truth. And the truth is that did something
30:19very wrong, unpatriotic, illegal, unconstitutional that day. So you would
30:27think they would welcome the opportunity to say the people who saved
30:31our lives should be recognized. We were able, of course, to do the
30:35congressional gold medal for the Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police and
30:40the law enforcement that saved our lives that day. We were also able to
30:45pass the legislation in the Democratic majority, but in bipartisan way for
30:50this plaque so that everyone who came to the Capitol would see that
30:54recognition.
30:57But what you see now is an attitude of fear. They're afraid of the president.
31:03Why would they be afraid of a plaque? They're afraid of the president.
31:07They're afraid of the free press and how this is reported. They're trying
31:11to dilute the story of what happened that day. They're undermining the
31:15principles of democracy as they refused to put up this plan. But we will
31:21continue until it is there, and it won't be long. It won't be long. Now,
31:26I associate myself with everything that our colleagues have said. I get
31:32emotional about the electoral college because we had staff from the Senate
31:36side carrying the mahogany boxes over, and they were chasing them down to get
31:41the mahogany boxes. It was a horrible thing. So don't anybody be misled
31:48because of their infant interference with freedom of the press and threats
31:52they're making to people who don't vote with them on this. This was an
31:56insurrection incited by the president of the United States, and its effect is
32:01being carried out by not recognizing the role of those who protected us that
32:06day. And I'm just very honored to be here with my colleagues, but
32:09especially to be here with our police officers. In this police week, you
32:14would think that they would, with pride, carry this into the Capitol. Well,
32:19the day is early. Thank you again, Eric Swalwell, for bringing us together.
32:23Thank you, my colleagues for sharing your personal experiences that day. But
32:27we will not let them deny the truth and the fact of what happened that day. To
32:34do so would be to undermine the vision of our founders, the sacrifice of our
32:40the people who
32:42who were there to protect us and the aspirations of those who visit the
32:46Capitol. I yield back.
32:49Thank you, Madam Speaker. And I asked the officers to go last because I
32:54wanted them to hear how highly we think of them. So, Sergeant Cannell, I would
32:59invite you up. And if all Sergeant Cannell and Danny Hodges did was
33:03defend the Capitol on January 6, as they say, and the speaker likes to say
33:07in Hamilton, that would be enough. But they have stayed in this fight for our
33:13democracy and for the other officers. And so, please, Sergeant Cannell.
33:21Um, thank you, Eric and all the other speaker for having us here today to be
33:26honored. Um, but before I begin, I need to acknowledge, uh, the ultimate
33:32sacrifice that the five officers protecting our democracy in January 6.
33:37Their courage must not be forgotten.
33:41While speaking, Mike Johnson, the president and his supporters get in
33:47front of the cameras and proclaim their devout support for the law and for the
33:51rule of law, law and order and the police. The action speak louder. They
33:57voted against awarding the officers the Congressional Gold Medal. They
34:01continue to defend the indefensible. I direct assault on our capital, where
34:08many of my colleagues and I were injured by the very same people who
34:13claim they support
34:22a rally weeks before January 6. Many of them were saying, telling us we're not
34:30like them. We're not Antifa. We support you. Thank you for your service. Yet on
34:36January 6, they turned on us and they beat us with flagpoles with flag. The
34:43American flag still attached. As a police officer, we protected elected
34:48officials from both parties the same, regardless of their views or abuse or
34:55their philosophies. We kept our oath and defend and protect,
35:01and we did that. We did it to the best of our abilities under the assault that
35:07we were facing to give them the government officials time to escape or
35:14get to safety.
35:18As many of those elected officials, especially from the Republican side,
35:22many of them were running in fear for their lives while I was fighting for
35:28mine, fighting for my colleagues in the tunnel facing the violent mob on the
35:35west front of the capital, risking my life to give them a chance again to
35:39escape. I was assaulted many times to the point of drawing blood from both my
35:46hands and subsequently undergoing two surgeries on my right foot and my left
35:52shoulder. I was trapped and nearly killed by the newly pardoned more than
35:591500 unjustly mistreated criminals who recorded themselves storming the
36:06capital and assaulting us.
36:08Mhm.
36:10We save lives. We defend the democracy and to commemorate our valiant effort
36:17action during the police week here in D. C. Republican in Congress continue to
36:22defy their own law on 2022 congressional law to honor the January
36:28six officers with a plaque with their names,
36:33not the names of the agencies as this one has
36:41in response to inquiry to mike johnson speaking mike johnson about the plaque.
36:48He said at one point, I'm still deciding which bathroom stall is going
36:56to be installed.
36:58Mhm. His response is not only an insult in the secretion of our service and
37:05sacrifice. It is also a betrayal to the every police officer who protect
37:12protected him and his colleagues from the violent mob on January six to make
37:19things worse. Republican officials now wants to give reparations to those who
37:25pay for the damage that they cause even and even agree to a settlement with a
37:32family or one of the attackers
37:36to show their support for the rule of law.
37:40They see those who attack us, the police as victims by using wars as
37:47political prisoners, hostages, tourists
37:52and unjustly mistreated people
37:56when they want to have them feel pity for them. When they want to celebrate
38:01the writers, they use words as patriots, heroes and warriors. And then we, when
38:08it comes to describe the officers, they refer to us as dogs
38:15as if we, the officers were the ones storming the capital and putting
38:20everybody's lives and our democracy in danger.
38:24Republican has turned it back on us. Literally, when we went to Pennsylvania
38:30State Assembly House, they walked out during us and booing us for simply
38:37being there.
38:39We protected them and their colleagues here in Congress by and instead of
38:45condemning the violence, they have condone it with a silence and instead
38:51refuse to acknowledge and honor our service. They forget that we, we, the
38:57officer sir, save their lives.
39:02I took enough to defend the Constitution and I kept it.
39:06I will remind them that the oath they took it is to the Constitution of the
39:11United States and not the president. Thank you for having him on yours.
39:20Thank you, Sergeant Canal for those beautiful moving words and to close us
39:24out. Officer Danny Hodges.
39:32Good afternoon.
39:33I'm here today on this peace officer Memorial Day in my personal capacity
39:39because Congressman Spalwell invited me. Um, Eric is actually the first
39:43congressman I ever met. After January six, he reached out and we met. He
39:49didn't have any political machinations in mind. He just wanted to ask how I
39:53was doing and say thank you
39:57to say thank you. That's what today is all about, right? That's what this week
40:02is about.
40:03That's what this plaque is about.
40:06But, um, it's a lot more than I can say for the Republican members of Congress
40:11who didn't deign to show up here today. With the exception of Adam Kinzinger
40:16and Liz Cheney, I have not heard from a single Republican member of Congress,
40:21not even to say thank you. And to my knowledge, none of my colleagues have
40:25either.
40:28I have heard other things from them, though. How January six was just a
40:32tourist visit, how we let them inside,
40:37how it was Antifa, how it was a conspiracy from the feds.
40:43They can't say thank you, though.
40:47They like to say that they are the party of law and order that they back
40:50the blue.
40:51Well,
40:53I have 10 years now in law enforcement, and there is only one group I found
40:59that actually backs the blue, and I guarantee you it's not the GOP and
41:04absolutely no disrespect to the people who came to support us today. But it's
41:07not the Democrats either.
41:10It's nobody so superficially labeled by race or religion where they're from.
41:20The people who actually support the police are people in crisis.
41:24Yeah,
41:26it's people in crisis that have a desperate faith that law enforcement
41:31will come and fight the fight that they cannot. And on January 6 2021 in this
41:36building, this country's Congress was in crisis. The vice president of this
41:41country was in crisis.
41:44The United States of America was in crisis, and I felt the desperate faith
41:48that everyone had that we would deliver them from this fight that they could
41:52not fight themselves.
41:54And we did.
41:58It cost us our sweat, our blood. Some of us. It cost us our jobs.
42:04Some of us. It cost us our peace of mind.
42:07And for some, it eventually cost us our lives.
42:12But we did deliver them from that fight.
42:15The transfer of power was made and our democracy survived.
42:18Mhm.
42:23But now that the sedition caucus is no longer in crisis, they have forgotten
42:27their desperate faith in law enforcement and replaced it with a smug
42:31pandering
42:35that I cannot describe how sick it makes me when I see them post back the
42:42blue or a blue live matter flag or whatever,
42:46and then they won't look me in the eye when I come down here. Talk about the
42:51valor my colleagues showed in taking the blows that were meant for them.
42:58So I have no faith in them to do the right thing. They have long since
43:01revealed who they are,
43:04but I sincerely hope
43:07that from today onward, fewer and fewer people are fooled
43:12by their disgusting pandering
43:15their words
43:18and see them for who they actually are looking out for. Number one, they look
43:22out for themselves
43:26and vote accordingly.
43:29But I am comforted by the fact that culturally the victory is ours.
43:34Eventually, if it isn't already, they can bury this plaque 20 ft underground.
43:38But we all know the truth of what happened that day. It's not going away.
43:42They can't make it go away.
43:46And so the truth will out. I just hope that
43:50it comes out sooner rather than later. Thank you.
43:55Thank you again to Sergeant Connell, Officer Hodges, my colleagues and
44:01to summarize. Yes, they can bury this plaque. We will make sure it is posted
44:06in January 2027
44:09and we won't meet here. We will meet inside so they can bury the plaque for
44:12now, but they will never bury the heroism and the truth of what those
44:18officers did on January six. Thank you.