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Jan. 6 updates: Biden tears into Trump for inciting Capitol attack

Speaking at the Capitol, Biden slammed Trump for "spreading a web of lies."

ByLibby Cathey
Last Updated: January 6, 2022, 8:55 PM EST

Thursday marks one year since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Democrats observed the anniversary with somber tributes at the building that's the symbol of American democracy.

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Homegrown: Standoff to Rebellion

A look at the days, events and conversations leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, from the eyes of anti-government groups, extremism experts and several ABC News correspondents who were at the Capitol that day.

The events in Washington included a panel discussion with historians, firsthand testimonies from lawmakers and a prayer vigil on the Capitol steps.

From Statuary Hall, which rioters stormed last year, President Joe Biden gave his most forceful rebuke of former President Donald Trump to date -- without calling him by name -- blaming him for the violence that erupted at the Capitol after he refused to accept a peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, were the only Republicans present in the House chamber for a moment of silence led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

A mob of supporters of President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.
Leah Millis/Reuters, FILE

ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of Thursday's events at the Capitol and examine the continuing fallout for American democracy one year since the Jan. 6 siege.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 06, 2022, 9:16 AM EST

Biden arrives at the Capitol 

Arriving on Capitol Hill, reporters asked the president ahead of his remarks how he was feeling heading into the day.

The president, flanked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, appeared to respond, "Praying that we will never have a day like we had a year ago today." 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi arrives at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2022, to mark the anniversary of the attack on the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Stefani Reynolds/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Notably, he did not respond when asked if he held Trump personally responsible for the attack.

The three walked towards Statuary Hall, which rioters stormed through one year ago.

Jan 06, 2022, 9:02 AM EST

Excerpts from Biden’s prepared remarks on Jan. 6

To mark one year since a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed through the Capitol -- including Statuary Hall where Biden will soon speak -- and attempted to breach the House chamber in an attempt to undo the 2020 election, in his remarks this morning, Biden will say that Americans are facing a moment when “we must decide what kind of nation we are going to be.”

“Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies?” Biden will say according to speech excerpts released by the White House. 

Pro-Trump protesters occupy the grounds of the West Front of the US Capitol, including the inaugural stage and viewing stands, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.
Michael Reynolds/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock, FILE

“We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it,” the excerpt read. 

While Biden is not expected to mention the former president by name, the White House said he will lay out the “singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and carnage that we saw.” 

A year after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, television cameras and video monitors fill Statuary Hall in preparation for news coverage, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Jan. 5, 2022.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Upon Biden’s arrival to the Capitol, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer greeted him. The pair flanked the president as they walked towards Statuary Hall.

Jan 06, 2022, 8:46 AM EST

Fortified fencing, massive force, not part of anniversary scene

Armored military vehicles, concertina wire atop non-scalable fencing and the massive show of force that fortified Capitol Hill in the aftermath of the violent attack on democracy last Jan. 6 are not defining Thursday's anniversary.

The U.S. Capitol is seen through a steam exhaust on the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The security posture in Washington, by comparison, appears fairly ordinary. The temporary fencing that ringed the Capitol for more than six months, and again briefly for a September demonstration has not returned, though that could change quickly if conditions warrant, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in a recent interview. 

The East Front door of the U.S. Capitol is seen on the first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

In a briefing Tuesday, Manger said his office was aware of several events planned for the day but that “most of them aren't of much concern to us.”

“There's no intelligence that indicates that there would be any problems,” he said.

Jan 06, 2022, 8:30 AM EST

By the numbers: DOJ investigates Jan. 6

At least 704 accused rioters have been charged by the Department of Justice, according to an ABC News count. At least 172 have pleaded guilty to their changes.

The FBI is still seeking 350 individuals believed to have committed violent acts on the Capitol grounds, according to the DOJ, including over 250 who assaulted police officers.

Click here for more.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin, Alexander Mallin and Will Steakin

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