President Biden on Thursday forcefully condemned Donald Trump’s election “Big Lie” that sparked the deadly breach of the Capitol by his supporters and continues to motivate deep national division. Biden marked the anniversary of the insurrection by declaring he will stand and fight for “the soul of America.”
“For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol,” Biden said. “But they failed.”
The president and congressional Democrats started the day in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, one of several spots where rioters swarmed a year ago and interrupted the electoral count.
Charles and Gladys Sicknick, the parents of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died as a consequence of defending the Capitol last Jan. 6, participate in a prayer vigil.
(Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
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Capitol Police officers stand on the East Plaza as the Capitol is illuminated by the rising sun Thursday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
President Biden speaks in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, one year after an insurrectionist mob stormed the building in hopes of interrupting the certification of his election victory.
Trump supporters gather in the U.S. capital to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral college victory over President Trump.
Jan. 7, 2021
President Biden speaks in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Thursday.
(Greg Nash / Pool Photo)
President Biden walks with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer past a statue of Abraham Lincoln after arriving at the Capitol on Thursday.
(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)
President Biden departs after his speech in Statuary Hall.
(Jabin Botsford / Pool Photo)
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U.S. Capitol Police officers disperse after a morning roll call in front of the Capitol Hill.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
The U.S. Capitol as seen from the base of the Washington Monument on Thursday.
(Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris walk into Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol before delivering remarks on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack.
Kent Nishimura is a former staff photographer with the Los Angeles Times, based in Washington, D.C. Born in Taiwan, Nishimura immigrated to the United States, grew up in Hawaii and is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His work has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International, the National Headliner Awards, the White House News Photographers Assn. and the National Press Photographers Assn., among others. He has worked on staff at newspapers across the United States and freelanced for many national and international publications before joining The Times in 2017.