Police Who Defended Capitol on Jan. 6 Sue to Get Memorial Put Up

Congress passed a law in 2022 to install a memorial honoring the police officers who defended the US Capitol from rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, but politics has prevented it from being installed, a complaint filed in federal court says.

The plaque is supposed to list the names of all the police officers who defended the Capitol from the rioters, including former US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and current Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, the complaint says. They sued the Architect of the Capitol in the US District Court for the District of Columbia Thursday to get the memorial installed.

Pursuant to the authorizing law, the plaque is supposed to be placed on the west front of the Capitol, no later than one year from adoption of the law, which was signed by President Joe Biden in March 2022.

But since then, the history of Jan. 6 has been rewritten, with now-President Donald Trump saying that the attack was a “day of love,” and claiming that the “cops should be charged and the protesters should be freed,” the officers said in their complaint. “Even those who recognized the violence of the day eventually partnered with the man who both inspired and minimized it.”

Trump in January pardoned almost everyone who was convicted for participating in the Jan. 6 attack and ordered any pending charges to be dropped. In May, the Justice Department announced it had reached a settlement in principle with the estate of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to force her way into the House chambers.

The complaint cites April 8 testimony from Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin, who told the House appropriations subcommittee that the plaque was made, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hasn’t instructed him to install it.

Austin’s decision not to install the plaque is unlawful and violates equal protection, because Austin has installed plaques memorializing other law enforcement officers, the complaint says.

By law, Austin was required to obtain and install the plaque within one year of its authorization but he didn’t, the complaint says. Mandamus relief is needed directing him to install the plaque now, it says.

The Architect of the Capitol didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lichten & Liss-Riordan PC represents the officers.

The case is Dunn v. Austin, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-01844, complaint filed 6/12/25.