Secret Service He said Thursday January 6th has been “designated a special national security event by the Secretary of Homeland Security.”
“The 2025 Electoral Vote Counting and Certification to take place in Washington, DC on January 6, 2025 has been designated a special national security event by the Secretary of Homeland Security,” the Secretary of Homeland Security's press release on the decision first announced. Reporter The Washington Post reported this from the Secret Service.
Nearly four years ago, supporters of former President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election. The riot on January 6, 2021, followed Trump's baseless claims of 2020 election fraud, and former President Trump continued to claim in Tuesday's debate with Vice President Harris that he won the 2020 election.
“National special security events are events of the greatest importance to the nation,” Special Agent in Charge Eric Lanagan of the Secret Service's VIP Security Division said in a statement. “The U.S. Secret Service is committed to working with our federal, state and local partners to develop and implement a comprehensive, integrated security plan to ensure the safety and security of this event and its participants.”
The former president, along with his supporters, tried to portray the 2021 attack on the Capitol as peaceful, but more than 140 police officers were injured and five were killed in the aftermath of the riot.
Last January, President Biden and Harris criticized January 6th Riot The post on social platform X marked the third anniversary.
“Three years ago, a mob fueled by lies stormed the United States Capitol,” Biden said in the post. “Our democracy was tested. But it endured because We, the People, prevailed.”
“It is up to us to prove that American democracy, however imperfect, remains a beacon to the world and a promise worth keeping,” he added.
In her post, Harris said the day of the riot was a “reminder that there is still work to be done to protect our democracy and fundamental freedoms.”
Story updated at 11:10 p.m. ET
