White House re-litigates Jan. 6 with webpage claiming "insurrection" was a Democratic fabrication
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The image on the White House page on January 6.
The White House marked the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot by releasing an official webpage that accuses former Vice President Mike Pence of "cowardice and sabotage," claims the 2020 election was stolen and insists the president's supporters were peaceful.
The big picture: Five years after a crowd of President Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, the day of infamy is being remembered through starkly divided partisan lenses.
- Upon his return to office, Trump granted pardons and commutations to hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants: people who are "patriots" and "hostages" to Trump, but remembered by others as violent insurrectionists.
Driving the news: The page, which is headed by sprawling images of House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and members of the select committee that probed Jan. 6, reads that Democrats "staged the real insurrection by certifying a fraud-ridden election."
- Election officials have maintained a lack of evidence of widespread voter fraud.
The page goes on to blame the United States Capitol Police who responded that day — and continue to report the impacts — accusing police of "deliberately escalating tensions" and turning "a peaceful demonstration into chaos."
- The site also declares that a USCP officer "murdered" Ashli Babbitt "in cold blood." Babbitt was fatally shot trying to climb through a broken window to the House Speaker's Lobby during the riot. The Justice Department closed its investigation into the officer involved in Babbitt's shooting in 2021, and an internal USCP probe determined the officer's conduct was lawful.
- A representative for the Capitol Police did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
The White House accused Pence, who resisted pressure to refuse to certify former President Biden's 2020 election, of an "act of cowardice and sabotage."
The other side: Pence's organization, Advancing American Freedom, directed Axios to an X post from his former chief of staff Marc Short in response to the site's dig's at Pence: "And I guess yall would have been okay if Kamala had refused to certify the 2024 results?" Short questioned, mentioning former Vice President Harris.
- Pence said in a general statement reflecting on the anniversary of the day that those in uniform were the "true heroes that day."
- He continued, "January 6 was a tragic day but it became a triumph of freedom when, after Capitol Police quelled the violence, leaders in both chambers in both political parties reconvened the very same day and finished democracy's work under the Constitution."
- Some 140 officers were injured in the riot that caused extensive damage to the Capitol building.
- Officer Brian Sicknick was assaulted by rioters, suffered strokes and died the day after the attack, per USCP. Four others later died by suicide. But the White House page claims no "law enforcement officers lost their lives."
- In addition to Babbitt, three other attendees died, while others later died by suicide, as is listed on the White House webpage. Sicknick's name is not mentioned on the site.
Zoom out: Winston Pingeon, a former Capitol Police officer, said during a special anniversary hearing held by Democratic lawmakers Tuesday that "what happened that day is wrong. It should go without saying pardoning criminals who severely beat me and my fellow officers that day is completely unacceptable."
- He added, "We cannot accept violent felons being pardoned and released back into our neighborhoods without consequence."
- Pingeon testified alongside Brendan Ballou, a former federal prosecutor who worked on Jan. 6 cases; Mary McCord, the executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection; and Pamela Hemphill, a former MAGA supporter who declined her pardon.
- Ballou accused Trump of trying to "rewrite the history of January 6."
What he's saying: In a lengthy, meandering speech to House Republicans Tuesday, Trump emphasized that he told his supporters to "peacefully and patriotically" use their voices on their march to the Capitol.
- He also falsely claimed the select committee and news media never reported that he used those words.
Context: In the years since the breach of the Capitol, some Republicans who condemned the attack and Trump's actions surrounding it have since softened their messaging.
- A physical manifestation of the friction over how to remember Jan. 6 is a plaque honoring law enforcement officers from that day that has yet to be displayed despite a mandate to hang it.
Axios' April Rubin contributed to this report
Go deeper: How Republicans have changed their tune on Jan. 6
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Marc Short.
