President Biden will honor the first anniversary of the Capitol riots by revealing "the truth of what happened" during the deadly attack, The Guardian reports.
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki announced that the president will mark one year since rioters tore through the US Capitol this Thursday by addressing the nation.
“On Thursday, the president is going to speak to the truth of what happened, not the lies that some have spread since, and the peril it has posed to the rule of law and our system of democratic governance,” Psaki told reporters on Tuesday afternoon in an initial preview of President Biden's address.
On January 6, 2020, a mob of protestors - many of whom were Donald Trump supporters - stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to stop electoral college votes from being counted, knowing they would officially deliver Biden's electoral victory.
Lawmakers and staff were evacuated while rioters assaulted law enforcement officials and vandalized property. The attack resulted in five deaths and left many others injured.
Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will speak on Thursday to mark one year since the attack. According to Psaki, extra emphasis will be placed on the role Capitol police played at the scene. It is reported that 138 officers were injured during the riots, and a further four have died by suicide.
"Because of their efforts, our democracy withstood an attack from a mob, and the will of more than 150 million people who voted in the presidential election was ultimately registered by Congress," the Psaki said.
When asked how President Biden would address Republicans who believe he stole Trump's election victory, Psaki said the president would "speak to everyone in the country. Those who didn’t vote for him, those who may not believe he is the legitimate president, about what he wants to do to make their lives better."
The news of Biden's address comes shortly after Trump canceled his own anniversary event, which was set to be held on Thursday evening at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
In a statement, the former president said he was calling off the event “in light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media.”
He plans to address the anniversary at a January 15 rally instead.
