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

On the center steps of the east side of the Capitol, which Trump supporters stormed last year after he called on them to "fight for your country," congressional Democrats held a bipartisan prayer vigil to mark one year since the deadly attack threatened their lives and American democracy.

Democratic leaders led members, with electric candles in hand, in walking down the steps before Bishop Michael Curry offered an invocation, asking for God's guidance in healing the nation.

A member of the "The President's Own" Marine Band sang "My Country, Tis of Thee" and "God Bless America," and several lawmakers sang along.

They bowed their heads for approximately 30 seconds when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for a moment of silence. While members of both chambers and parties were invited, it appeared no Republicans were present.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan

On the western side of the Capitol, congressional lawmakers gathered for a candlelight vigil as the sun set on a chilly night in Washington.

As leaders spoke, hundreds of guests -- some carrying electric candles and American flags -- gathered outside the Capitol to listen and reflect on the anniversary of the violent attack.

A moment of silence -- one of many, so far -- was called for those who died or were injured in the attack and for all the pain and trauma the day caused the nation. Five people died during or after the attack, including four protesters and one law enforcement officer. Separately, four officers who responded to the riot have died by suicide. At least 140 police officers were injured.

Activists sponsoring the vigil said they are demanding Congress pass the Freedom to Vote Act and other voting rights reforms as legislation is stalled in the Senate.

More than a third of all restrictive voting laws enacted since 2011 were passed in 2021, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice, which Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., called "a slow-motion coup attempt across this country."

While Democrats took a lead on the day’s ceremonies, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia -- both Trump loyalists -- held an event of their own at the Capitol to deflect blame. Trump earlier this week canceled a planned press conference to mark the anniversary from Mar-a-Lago.

Republican leaders were not present at the Capitol with Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who serves as vice-chair on the House select committee investigating the attack, and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, rebuking GOP leadership after an earlier moment of silence in the House chamber.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is instead attending the funeral of late GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson in Atlanta. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who said on Jan. 6, 2021, from the House floor that "President Trump bears responsibility" for the "attack on Congress by mob rioters," has repeatedly accused Democrats of politicizing the day.

Most House Republicans are at home "talking to their constituents about things that actually affect them" like inflation and high gas prices, according to a House Republican leadership aide.

-ABC News Benjamin Siegel

Biden took the oath of office just days after the violent attack on the Capitol last Jan. 6, but he has fastidiously tried to prevent those unprecedented circumstances -- or his predecessor -- from dominating his first year in the White House.

But on the anniversary of the insurrection, he confronted Trump in a direct, personal way, in some of his strongest language yet.

"We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie. And here's truth," he said, speaking from Statuary Hall in the Capitol that rioters ransacked last year. "The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He's done so because he values power over principle. Because he sees his own interest as more important than his country's interest -- than America's interest -- and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He can’t accept he lost."

Click here to read a full transcript of Biden's speech.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Sarah Kolinovsky