Monday marks the fourth anniversary of the violent events of January 6, 2021 – a day that President-elect Donald Trump has tried to recreate as a “day of love”.
Trump has vowed to pardon them on the first day of his administration on January 6, and said that although it will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, the majority should not be in prison and believes they have “suffered a lot”.
At an event at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, according to an audio recording obtained by ABC News, he continued to claim that the electoral votes in the 2020 election “could be returned” and criticized then-Vice President Mike. Pence to his constitutional duty to uphold the certification process and not unilaterally reject the election results.
President Joe Biden, on the other hand, wrote a comment on Sunday, in which he rejected “attempts to rewrite — even erase — the history of that day.”
“Violent rioters stormed the Capitol, threatened the lives of elected officials and attacked brave law enforcement officers,” he wrote in the Washington Post. “We should be proud that our democracy has withstood this attack. And we should be happy that we will not see such a shameful attack this year.”
And in his remarks to congressional Democrats, Biden said it was now their “duty to tell the truth.”
“You remember what happened, and don’t let January 6 be rewritten or even erased,” he told them. “To honor the Constitution, it is not only an extraordinary day, but one of the hardest days in American history: January 6.”
Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
On the campaign trail, Trump often floated complaints and false claims about the 2020 election and tried to downplay what happened on January 6, 2021.
One remarkable exchange came a few weeks earlier at a Univision town hall The elections The day, when a Republican audience member pressed Trump on his actions that day, when thousands of his supporters stormed the US Capitol, temporarily suspended Biden’s victory certificate.
Trump falsely claimed that no one in the crowd was carrying a firearm.
“This was a day of love,” Trump said. “From the point of view of millions, it’s like hundreds of thousands. It might have been the biggest group I’ve ever spoken to. They asked me to speak. I went and I spoke, and I used the term ‘peacefully and patriotically.'”
During the period ABC News presidential debate In September 2024, Trump was asked if he had any regrets about January 6, 2021.
“I had nothing to do with that, I was asked to make a speech,” he replied.
Nearly 1,600 people have faced charges related to the Capitol attack, according to new figures released by the US Attorney’s Office.
That includes 608 people who have been charged with assault, resisting or obstructing law enforcement trying to secure the complex that day, the office said. An estimated 140 law enforcement officers were injured in the riots, the DOJ said.
On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris will do it Head of Congress certification As a result of Trump’s 2024 victory.
In a brief video message on Monday, Harris reflected on the importance of a peaceful transfer of power, saying the country had seen “how fragile our democracy can be” and that “until then it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.”
Trump posted on social media “A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY. MAGIC!”
ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh and Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
