Biden to Hold Ceremony Marking Capitol Riots

Facts

• US Pres. Biden will commemorate the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots with a ceremony in the White House's East Room on Friday. Further details about the event have yet to be released.
• Though Biden rarely mentions former Pres. Donald Trump by name, the president has publicly criticized the riots as a threat to democracy and the rule of law. At an event last year marking one year since the incident, Biden referred to Trump as not being able to "accept he lost" the 2020 election.
• Jan. 6, 2021 led to five deaths during or after the riots and more than 140 injured police officers. Earlier that morning, Trump gave a speech to supporters that included chastising then-Vice President Mike Pence for not trying to block the certification of the election. He denies, however, instigating the violence, which he has condemned.
• In its concluding remarks last month, the Democrat-led House Jan. 6 committee investigating the riots nevertheless recommended that federal prosecutors charge Trump with four crimes — including obstruction and insurrection, which was the first time in history that Congress referred a former president for criminal prosecution.
• Trump, who has never officially conceded the 2020 election and has dismissed the committee's investigation as partisan, has already announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. Biden has suggested he intends to seek reelection but hasn't yet announced his candidacy.

Sources: Straits Times, Sabc, Market Screener, and Reuters.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by NY Times. Not only should we never forget the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, but also the members of Congress who enabled and even outright encouraged Donald Trump to push his incendiary election lies. America's political institutions, and the Constitution that gave rise to them, are only as strong as the elected officials who swear to uphold their values. This is why Jan 6. must never be swept under the rug of history.
• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by NY Post. While there's no doubt that Jan. 6 was disgraceful, portraying it as an organized terrorist plot that Trump was responsible for is absurd. Democrats jump at any chance to politicize January 6, and this ceremony is just the latest example. Though the Biden admin. still hasn't answered to what extent the FBI was involved in the riots, or explained why Capitol police were inadequately deployed that day, it will unashamedly stoke hatred against the average American Trump supporter as "domestic terrorists."