Jan. 6 'heroes' honored for defending US Capitol

Law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 were honored Tuesday with Congressional Gold Medals, praised as “heroes”.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened an emotional ceremony, tensions still raw in the Capitol, which was overrun that day when Trump supporters roamed the halls trying to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's election.

To recognize the hundreds of officers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, the medals will be placed in four locations - at U.S. Capitol Police headquarters, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Capitol and the Smithsonian Institution. In signing the legislation last year, Biden said that one will be placed at the Smithsonian museum “so all visitors can understand what happened that day.”