Two Years Later, Impacts of Capitol Riot Linger in Washington

Friday marks two years since the Capitol riot. On January 6, 2021, during a joint-congress held to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory, a mob of Donald Trump supporters clashed with Capitol security, broke into the Capitol building and disrupted the proceedings. Four people in the mob died during the riot. One Capitol police officer suffered a series of strokes and died the next day. Two other officers took their own lives in the days after.

Legal Battles: A New York Times report called the Department of Justice’s investigation into the riot “the biggest criminal inquiry” in the department’s history, with over 900 people arrested so far on various charges related to the riot. On Thursday, the family of Officer Brian Sicknick, who died the day after the riot, announced they are suing former president Trump for wrongful death. Last month, the House's select January 6 committee published its final report, recommending Trump be barred from running for office again.

Memorials: On Friday, President Joe Biden commemorated the anniversary of the riot by awarding the Presidential Citizens Medal to 14 people that Biden stated were “incredibly consequential” in the process and certification of the 2020 election, including the three officers that died shortly after the riot.

How The Media Covered It: The anniversary was covered moderately on the left and very little on the right. Byron York (Right Bias) surmised the divide in attention, determining that “Republicans will seek to move on, Democrats will seek to exploit it politically.”