The White House announced on Thursday that President Joe Biden will give several individuals who defended democracy after the 2020 election the Presidential Citizens Medal to mark the second anniversary of the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
The awards will go to twelve people who either tried to protect the Capitol complex during the attack or fended off pressure to overturn the 2020 election results at the state and local level. The recipients include Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson; former Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone, who suffered injuries from the attack; Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two election workers from Fulton County, Georgia, who’d become targets of a racist harassment campaign; and Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer who’d died from injuries inflicted from the attack.
The citizens award was established via executive order on November 13, 1969, to honor citizens who’ve “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.” It’s considered the second-highest civilian award from the U.S. government below the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Biden will issue the awards during a White House ceremony commemorating the second anniversary on Friday. He’ll deliver remarks about the recipients having made “exemplary contributions to our democracy” and shown “courage and selflessness” around the insurrection, a source told CNN.
