GOP congressman commemorates Jan. 6 by defending vote against honoring U.S. Capitol police

In the months following the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, both chambers of Congress voted to award the Congressional Gold Medal — the highest civilian award in the United States along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom — to U.S. Capitol police officers who defended members of Congress during the attack. 21 House Republicans voted no.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), who was one of those 21 no votes, defended his "no" vote on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on the third anniversary of the attack that resulted in five deaths of police officers with hundreds more injured.

"Did you know all but 21 US Representatives voted for a bill written by Nancy Pelosi that called the January 6th protestors 'insurrectionists'?" Massie tweeted, along with a link to the legislation. "I voted No and took a lot of heat for it."

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Massie's objection to the bill was that it referred to supporters of then-President Donald Trump who breached the U.S. Capitol building as a "mob of insurrectionists." The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an "insurrection" as "the act or an instance of revolting especially violently against civil or political authority or against an established government," and "the crime of inciting or engaging in such revolt." According to The Hill, Massie disagreed with the characterization of January 6 rioters as "insurrectionists" when the bill was being discussed.

"They were protesting. And I don’t approve of the way they protested, but it wasn’t an insurrection," Massie said at the time.

According to CNN, there were ultimately three medals awarded — one for the entire U.S. Capitol Police Department, one for the entire DC Metropolitan Police Department, and a third to be displayed at the Smithsonian museum naming all of the law enforcement agencies that participated in the defense of the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection.

The final vote on the bill was 406-21, with 218 "yea" votes from Democrats and 188 "yea" votes from Republicans. No Democrats voted against the bill.

READ MORE: Romney warned McConnell days before Jan. 6 that Trump could be 'instigator' of violence