- The Chamber voted to give medals to the Capitol Police and MPD officials after the January 6 riots.
- The vote went from 413 to 12. All 12 lawmakers who voted against the legislation were Republicans.
- They said they disagreed with the legislation that characterizes the siege of the Capitol as an “insurrection”.
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The House passed a bill on Wednesday to honor the Capitol police officers who protected the building during the January 6 riots with Congressional gold medals. The vote went from 413 to 12.
Bipartisan law authorized the creation of three medals for Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers who helped defend the United States Capitol from the pro-Trump rioters who invaded the building.
Last month, Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman received the Congressional Gold Medal for his actions in diverting a crowd of Senate House protesters on January 6. The legislation mentions Goodman, as well as the late officer Brian Sicknick, who died of injuries sustained during the siege, and two officers who died by suicide after the insurrection.
Some Republicans questioned the language of the legislation, particularly as it referred to the events that took place on January 6 as an “insurrection”. All 12 negative votes for legislation came from Republican lawmakers.
Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida described the bill as “offensive” due to the inclusion of “these editorial comments on the January 6 sequence of events”. Representative Thomas Massie, from Kentucky, said he disagreed with categorizing the disturbances as an “insurrection”, expressing concern that the label could be used by prosecutors.
Here are the 12 Republicans who voted against the legislation: