Attorney General Merrick Garland commended the officers who respond to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
“On this day, four years ago, police officers were brutally assaulted while bravely defending the United States Capitol. They were punched, tackled, tased, and attacked with chemical agents that burned their eyes and skin. Today, I am thinking of the officers who still bear the scars of that day as well as the loved ones of the five officers who lost their lives in the line of duty as a result of what happened to them on January 6, 2021,” Garland said in a statement.
“January 6 was a violent attack on the law enforcement officers defending the Capitol, and it was an unprecedented attack on a cornerstone of our system of government — the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next.”
In addition to the five offices whose deaths have been linked to the attack, more than 140 police officers were assaulted during the episode.
Garland went on to commend the Justice Department’s prosecution of more than 1,500 people associated with the riot, calling it “one of the most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in the Justice Department’s history” and one that was conducted with “unrelenting integrity.”
He did not mention the department’s prosecution of President-elect Trump, which hit a roadblock with his victory.
Special counsel Jack Smith in November moved to dismiss the case without prejudice, citing department policy barring the prosecution of sitting presidents.
