Jan. 6 updates: Biden tears into Trump for inciting Capitol attack
Speaking at the Capitol, Biden slammed Trump for "spreading a web of lies."
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.
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.
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:
Democrats tie anniversary to renewed push for voting rights
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is expected to appear with Pelosi at the day's events, has tied the anniversary to a push for voting rights legislation that the House passed last year but which is stalled in the Senate.
Voting rights will also be a portion of Biden’s speech, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
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.
At least 19 states enacted 34 laws restricting access to voting in 2021, as of Dec. 7. More than 440 bills with provisions that restrict voting access were introduced in 49 states in 2021, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice.
Where are Republican leaders? Not at the Capitol
While Democrats take a lead on the day’s ceremonies, Republican leaders are not expected to be at the Capitol.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is instead planning to attend the funeral of late GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson in Georgia. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has repeatedly accused Democrats of politicizing the day after saying on Jan. 6, 2021, on the House floor that "President Trump bears responsibility" for the "attack on Congress by mob rioters."
Trump on Tuesday canceled a planned press conference for Thursday from Mar-a-Lago, while House Republicans will be 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
White House previews Biden’s speech
In his speech scheduled for 9 a.m. inside the Capitol's Statutory Hall, Biden will address the "singular responsibility" then-President Donald Trump had "for the chaos and carnage" witnessed on Jan. 6, White House press secretary Jen Psaki previewed Wednesday.
"And he will forcibly push back on the lie spread by the former president in an attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters as well as distract from his role and what happened," Psaki said.
She declined to say whether Biden would call Trump by name but said that "people will know who he’s referring to."
"He sees Jan. 6 as a tragic culmination of what those four years under President Trump did to our country and they reflected the importance to the president of winning what he has called many times and you've heard him call many times the soul, the battle for the soul of our nation," Psaki added.
Here’s what’s happening in Washington to mark Jan. 6
Biden and Harris are scheduled to deliver remarks to kick off the ceremonies at 9 a.m. in the Capitol's Statuary Hall.
At noon, Pelosi will lead the House chamber in a moment of silence at noon. Then, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden will moderate a "Historic Perspective" panel discussion with historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham "to establish and preserve the narrative of January 6th."
In a large caucus room in the Cannon Office House Building at 2:30 p.m., Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a decorated Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran -- who was sworn in for his second term days before Jan. 6 -- will lead members in sharing their experiences and reflections.
The schedule is set to conclude at 5:30 p.m. with a prayer vigil on the U.S. Capitol center steps. Members of the House and Senate were invited to observe the anniversary with prayer and music.
Biden confronts Trump's role on Jan. 6: Full transcript
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
