Overview

• Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges filed a federal suit on June 12 against Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin to force the installation of the memorial plaque.
• A law signed in 2022 required the plaque to be mounted on the West Front by March 2023, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has not issued instructions to hang it.
• The complaint argues that ignoring the statute violates the Equal Protection Clause and furthers efforts to rewrite the history of the January 6 attack.
• Democratic lawmakers have installed replica plaques outside their offices to highlight the stalled memorial while pressing Republican colleagues to comply with the law.
• The legal battle follows President Trump’s sweeping pardons of Jan. 6 rioters and underscores widening partisan rifts over how the attack is commemorated.