‘Insult to injury’: Former officers react to location of Jan. 6 plaque

Just before dawn Saturday, a plaque honoring U.S. Capitol Police along with other law enforcement agencies who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6 was installed.

It comes more than 5 years after insurrectionists stormed the building. The Senate voted to install the plaque after the House GOP refused to display it.

“I think that speaks volumes about they’re doing this because they were forced to do it, and they did it in a manner that really added insult to the injury, to the injury that they had already subjected so many law enforcement officers to,” said former Capitol police officer Michael Fanone.

Fanone was one of the officers attacked by the rioters five years ago. He later suffered a heart attack and resigned from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Fanone says many officers feel betrayed by the institutions they fought to protect.

“They installed it at four in the morning, in a part of the Senate that is not accessible to the public,” he said. “The whole purpose of the plaque is to remind the public when they come visit the Capitol of the selflessness, courage of the Metropolitan police department and the U.S. Capitol Police.”

The riot took place at the tail end of President Donald Trump’s first term while Congress was attempting to certify 2020 election results.

When Trump was sworn in for his second term last year, he pardoned roughly 1,500 criminal defendants who were charged for their actions at the capitol on Jan. 6.

The new marker comes two months after the Senate unanimously agreed to a resolution directing the architect of the capitol to install the plaque honoring the officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The resolution was introduced earlier this year after congress had stalled on plans outlined in a 2022 law to install a similar plaque by March 2023.

The marker was installed on the Senate side of the Capitol and is expected to stay there until both chambers can agree on a more permanent place for it.

Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who filed a joint lawsuit seeking the installation of the plaque, took to social media, writing, “The location of the plaque that was just hung, is in a place that it will not be visible to the public. While I am thankful for this first step, our lawsuit continues until the plaque is hung in accordance with the law.”

The plaque reads, “On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021. Their heroism will never be forgotten.”