Biden urged not to let Trump ‘rewrite history’ of Capitol Hill heist

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, paid tribute on Thursday to the police who responded to the assault on Capitol Hill on January 6, and asked not to let the allies of former President Donald Trump “rewrite history”. of what happened that day.

Biden signed a law to bestow the Congressional Gold Medal – the highest civilian honor bestowed by the US legislature – on the Capitol Police, the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department, and other officers who responded to aggression.

“The United States owe them a debt that they will never be able to pay in full”, Biden told the twenty police officers present at the act to sign the law at the White House.

The president attacked those who seek to distort what happened that day, in a veiled allusion to Trump and his allies, who described the participants in the mob that led the assault as heroes, despite the fact that the day ended with five dead and 140 law enforcement officers attacked.

“The tragedy of today deserves above all the truth. We cannot allow history to be rewritten. We cannot let these agents’ heroism be forgotten “Biden pointed out.

“It wasn’t dissent. It was not a debate. It was not democracy. It was an insurrection. It was a riot and a maelstrom. It was radical and chaotic. And it was unconstitutional “, he stressed.

The president described the radical Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol as “a host of extremists and terrorists”, but celebrated that “democracy has survived” and “the truth has conquered the lies.”

The goal of the crowds that stormed the seat of Congress was to prevent Biden from winning the November election, due to Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.

The American Vice President, Kamala Harris recalled how, after police finally managed to clear the Capitol in an operation that lasted several hours, Congress reconvened to certify Biden’s triumph in a morning session.

“In these late hours, as these police continued to work to keep our city safe, they also kept our democracy safe. Let us never forget that “Harris asked during the ceremony.

The four police officers who testified last week at the first hearing of the committee promoted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to investigate the January 6 assault were present at the event.

These officers – Aquilino Gonell, Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges – described the physical and psychological consequences the assault left them and many of their colleagues, during which they suffered beatings and insults. racist.

This week, authorities in the capital confirmed that two other police officers responding to the attack on the Capitol, Kyle DeFreytag and Gunther Hashida, committed suicide during the month of July, bringing the number of police officers involved in the attack to four. operation of December 6. January who committed suicide.

(With information from EFE)

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