'No excuses': Trump DOJ blasted in court filing for ignoring Jan. 6 plaque honoring police

A plaque honoring the police who defended the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, riots was meant to go up in 2023, but as 2025 draws to an end, it still has not been, and the Trump administration is now asking a judge to delay a lawsuit forcing them to put it up, according to a post from CBS News's Scott MacFarlane.

In 2022, Congress passed a law mandating that the plaque be added to the west front of the U.S. Capitol building by March 15, 2023. That deadline came and went without the plaque being installed, and the situation continued after Congress appointed a new Architect of the Capitol, Thomas Austin, in the summer of 2024.

This past June, former US Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges filed a lawsuit against Austin, seeking to compel the installation of the plaque. The two officers claim that Austin has not given a plausible explanation for why the plaque has not been put up in accordance with the law.

“Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges were among the officers who protected the Capitol from rioters on January 6, 2021,” the latest motion in the suit read. “For their bravery, they and their fellow officers were to be honored with a plaque at the Capitol, to be installed by March 15, 2023. Years since that deadline passed, the plaque is not installed, and Officers Dunn and Hodges seek to have the Architect of the Capitol comply with the law and ensure that history is not forgotten.”

On Tuesday, however, the Department of Justice requested a delay of the deadline for the Trump administration to respond to the lawsuit, per a post MacFarlane shared on social media.

"Citing a 'large docket of cases', a Justice Dept attorney asks a court to DELAY the upcoming deadline for the Trump Admin to respond to a lawsuit, which seeks to require the hanging of the Jan 6 plaque honoring police at the Capitol," MacFarlane wrote. "Federal law required the plaque to be hung by 2023."

"Nope, sorry. You fired and drove out scores of highly competent lawyers and staff, and have authority to hire what you need," Bluesky user Besty Cazden wrote in response to MacFarlane's post. "No excuses, no delays. Maybe stop wasting resources going after Jim Comey, Letitia James, and other non-criminals, as well as appealing every injunction at every stage."