Jan. 6 Panel Leaders and Other Distinguished Americans Receive the Presidential Citizens Medal from Biden

The second-highest civilian award, the Presidential Citizens Medal, will be presented by President Joe Biden to Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson, the leaders of the congressional investigation into the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. This recognition is being awarded despite former President Donald Trump’s call for the two lawmakers to be imprisoned.

Biden will honor 20 individuals at the White House ceremony on Thursday. The honorees include advocates for marriage equality, a pioneer in battlefield injury treatment, and two of Biden’s close friends, former Senators Ted Kaufman and Chris Dodd.

“President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others,” the White House stated. “Their sacrifice and dedication have made the nation better.”

Panel Leaders Honored for Jan. 6 Investigation

Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, and Cheney, a former Republican representative from Wyoming, co-chaired the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. Cheney, who later declared her support for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, has faced sharp criticism from Trump, who continues to propagate false claims about the 2020 race.

Trump, who won the 2024 election and is set to take office on January 20, has stated he would pardon the Jan. 6 rioters. In a recent interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump labeled the committee members “political thugs” and falsely accused them of tampering with testimony.

“To be honest, they ought to be put in jail,” Trump said.

Reports suggest Biden is considering preemptive pardons for Cheney and others targeted by Trump.

Additional Honorees

The medal recipients represent various fields of service:

  • Marriage Equality Advocates: Evan Wolfson, a leader in the fight for marriage equality, and Mary Bonauto, a lawyer instrumental in legalizing same-sex marriage.
  • Military and Veterans’ Advocates: Diane Carlson Evans, a Vietnam War Army nurse and founder of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation, and Frank Butler, a pioneer in the use of tourniquets for battlefield injuries.
  • Women’s Rights Activists: Eleanor Smeal, a prominent advocate for equal pay and women’s rights since the 1970s.

Other honorees include Frances Visco, president of the National Breast Cancer Coalition; academics Thomas Vallely and Paula Wallace; and photographer Bobby Sager.

Posthumous Honors

Biden will also honor four individuals posthumously:

  • Joseph Galloway, a war journalist and author of We Were Soldiers Once… and Young.
  • Louis Lorenzo Redding, a civil rights lawyer.
  • Collins Seitz, a former Delaware state judge.
  • Mitsuye Endo Tsutsumi, who opposed the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

The Legacy of the Citizens Medal

Established in 1969 by President Richard Nixon, the Presidential Citizens Medal recognizes individuals who perform “exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.” It is second in prestige only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

At last year’s ceremony, Biden recognized those who helped defend the Capitol and safeguard the 2020 election results.

Jan. 6 Panel Leaders and Other Distinguished Americans Receive the Presidential Citizens Medal from Biden
Jan. 6 Panel Leaders and Other Distinguished Americans Receive the Presidential Citizens Medal from Biden

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Source : apnews

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