Two police officers who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, are seeking to continue their lawsuit over a plaque commemorating their and other officers' actions that day after it was installed last week "in an area blocked to the public," their court filing said.
Tuesday's court filing argues that the "decision to install the plaque in a part of the Capitol hidden from the public fails to comply with the text law."
Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges sued the Architect of the Capitol last year over the delay in implementing a 2022 law requiring the installation of a plaque honoring law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol against rioting supporters of President Donald Trump. The Architect of the Capitol agency is tasked with preserving the Capitol building and grounds.
In Tuesday's court filing, the lawyer for the officers argued that the recent installation violated the text and the spirit of the law, pointing to the legislation's purpose to "honor" the officers.
"Honor is a social — that is, public — recognition," their lawyer, Brendan Ballou, wrote. "Hidden from all visitors, the current location is no different than the basement the plaque was kept in for years."
Ballou also pointed out that the law required the plaque to be permanently displayed on the "western front" of the building's exterior.
NBC News has reached out to the Architect of the Capitol and the Justice Department for comment.
House Speaker Mike Johnson's office had argued that the law was "not implementable," pointing to language in the law that said the names of officers should be on the plaque, while the plaque that was created instead listed law enforcement agencies. Johnson, R-La., had sought to aid Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, leading a group of House Republicans in a U.S. Supreme Court brief supporting Texas' lawsuit contesting the results in four swing states that then-President-elect Joe Biden won.
In January, the Senate unanimously voted to hang the plaque to honor the law enforcement officers. The resolution required it to be "prominently" displayed "in a publicly accessible location in the Senate wing of the United States Capitol."
On Saturday, staff from the Architect of the Capitol's office installed a plaque, which read, "On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021."
"Their heroism will never be forgotten," it continued.
