To defend that freedom, some 140 officers were injured in the line of duty, a large number of them seriously. This is what President Reagan called 'nothing short of a miracle.' This is what President Kennedy called, in his inaugural address, 'a celebration of freedom.''

He handed control of the Continental Army back to Congress.'įurther, she said, 'With this noble act, George Washington set the indispensable example of the peaceful transfer of power in our country. At this moment in 1793 depicted in the painting, Washington voluntarily relinquished power. In a bit of profound symbolism, she said that among the eight murals above the resting SWAT teams was one that 'depicts George Washington resigning his commission. For profiles in courage, we need look no farther than those men and women.'Īnd in the Capitol rotunda, she said, 'Against almost every wall encircling the room were SWAT teams - more men and women in riot gear, helmets, carrying long arms - some resting from battle, others standing watch - ATF, FBI, federal agents - deployed inside the United States Capitol building.' These men and women had spent hours battling a violent mob, a mob of our fellow countrymen, attempting to stop the transition of presidential power.

Water bottles - with water they had been drinking and using to wash away the chemical spray deployed by the rioters - littered the floor. 'Law enforcement officers in black tactical gear were sitting on the floor, leaning up against the statues, exhausted from the brutal hand-to-hand combat in which they had been engaged for hours. 'I left the House floor that night, and I walked to Statuary Hall,' she said. Kennedy Library on May 22, she appropriately deflected the praise to the law enforcement officials who fought off last year's Capitol rioters.īetter yet, she put that praise into a broader context, focusing less on President Donald Trump's specific effort to overturn the 2020 election than on the importance of defending the peaceful transition of power and on 'the defense of our republic, the defense of the constitutional foundations of our nation.'Ĭheney described the scene in the Capitol on the night of Jan.

Liz Cheney (R-WY) received the Profile in Courage Award from the John F.

Liz cheney profiles in courage