Several House Democrats are posting replicas of a commemorative plaque for police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection — needling Speaker Mike Johnson for the prolonged delay in installing the official plaque that was commissioned by Congress more than three years ago.
The plaque honoring U.S. Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers was mandated in a 2022 spending bill. It was created, then put in storage after Republicans took the majority later that year. Democrats have since urged House GOP leadership to follow the original law, which ordered it to be mounted inside the Capitol within a year of enactment.
Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) led the effort to create the replicas and asked Democratic colleagues earlier this month if they wanted one to put outside their office, according to a Dear Colleague letter obtained by POLITICO. They started appearing in Capitol office buildings — and House Democrats’ social media feeds — on Monday.
“If you’re frustrated, like we are, with this embarrassing violation of law and spectacular disregard for the valor, honor and sacrifice of our police officers who responded on that day, please join us by displaying a poster replica of the plaque outside of your office,” the Democrats wrote in the letter. The same day, two Capitol Police officers who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6 filed a lawsuit seeking for a court order to hang the plaque.
Democrats are also pushing for the plaque’s installation as part of the fiscal 2026 spending process. The House Appropriations Committee is debating the bill funding the legislative branch this week, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the panel’s top Democrat, bashed Republicans for “failing to call for the immediate installation of the completed January 6 plaque honoring law enforcement” in their draft legislation.
A spokesperson for Johnson did not respond to a request for comment on the replicas.
“President Trump incited a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol—and yet the plaque honoring the officers who defended us sits forgotten in the basement,” Morelle said in a post on X. “If Speaker Johnson won’t display it, then I will.”
Nicholas Wu, Meredith Lee Hill and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
