To mark the two-year anniversary of the day American democracy almost went up in smoke and Trump flags, President Joe Biden will award the Presidential Citizens Medal to 12 people who did their part to preserve our institutions during and after the 2020 election. Those being honored at a White House ceremony scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern today will include law enforcement officers who were attacked by the mob at the US Capitol two years ago, but will also include election workers whom Trump falsely accused of doing terrible things because they did their part to administer and count the vote, too.
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Biden will award the medals, the nation’s second-highest civilian award after the Medal of Freedom, to folks chosen for their “exemplary contributions to our democracy,” who demonstrated “courage and selflessness” in upholding the election and the democratic process.
Here’s your live video feed of Biden’s remarks and the ceremony:
In addition to law enforcement officers who were injured defending the Capitol on January 6, Biden will also award a posthumous medal to Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was attacked by the mob and died of a series of strokes the following day.
Others being recognized include Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, both of whom said hell no to attempts to overturn the vote, as well as Al Schmidt, a Republican who, as a former member of the Philadelphia County Board of Elections, refused to let Trump and his creeps intimidate him into interfering with counting the ballots. (He’s now been appointed to oversee elections by new Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.)
Biden will also honor Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the Georgia elections workers who faced constant death threats after Donald Trump and Fox News and all of rightwing media falsely claimed they had counted “suitcases” of fake ballots, or counted hundreds of ballots multiple times, or just for generally having been Black election workers who did their jobs and were therefore traitors.
For the full list of honorees, see Liz’s post yesterday, and of course just watch the ceremony here, because Joe will tell us all about why these folks are the ordinary heroes of democracy we need more of. Even when democracy goes more than a little freaky, as it has in the House this week, it sure beats the alternative. Now if we could just get rid of all those insurrectionists still in Congress — with votes.
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