President Biden will award more than a dozen individuals with the Presidential Citizens Medal on Friday afternoon for their work protecting the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and for overseeing the 2020 election process despite efforts to overturn the results.
The 14 medal recipients consist of both public safety officers who were on duty during the riot as well as state and local election officials.
The ceremony will mark two years since rioters violently descended on the Capitol, supporting former President Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
The anniversary comes just weeks after the House committee investigating the attack concluded its investigation and released its full report.
"The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded to individuals who have "performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens." It is one of the nation's highest civilian honors. This will be the first time President Biden has awarded the Citizens Medal," a White House official said in a statement.
Award recipients include members of the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department, as well as three officers who died in the days following the insurrection.
And state and local election officials will also be honored for their work pushing back against attempts to overturn the presidential election results. Many were the subject of intense harassment from far-right factions engaged with election-denying conspiracy theories.
Many...
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