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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."

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, 6:13 PM EST

Pelosi leads prayer vigil on Capitol steps

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.

A large group of pro-Trump protesters stand on the East steps of the Capitol Building after storming its grounds, Jan. 6, 2021.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

PHOTO: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and members of Congress participate in a prayer vigil on the East steps of the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2022.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and members of Congress participate in a prayer vigil on the East steps of the Capitol in observance of the first anniversary of the attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, Jan. 6, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

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.

PHOTO: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks as members of the House and Senate participate in a prayer vigil on the East Steps of the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2022,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks as members of the House and Senate participate in a prayer vigil on the East Steps of the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2022, to mark the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump.
Susan Walsh/AP

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

Jan 06, 2022, 5:36 PM EST

Lawmakers join candlelight vigil, push for voting rights

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.

With the Capitol building in the background, a person holds an American flag and a flameless candle during a vigil, Jan. 6, 2022, in Washington, D.C., on the one year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol.
Julio Cortez/AP

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."

Jan 06, 2022, 4:59 PM EST

Almost no GOP support for Jan. 6 ceremonies

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.

PHOTO: Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Representative Matt Gaetz show video from the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol as they speak about what they say happened that day, during a press conference in Washington, DC, Jan. 6, 2022.
Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Representative Matt Gaetz show video from the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol as they speak about what they say happened that day, during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Jan. 6, 2022.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

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.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Rep. Liz Cheney recite the pledge of allegiance on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.
House TV

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

Jan 06, 2022, 4:50 PM EST

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.

President Joe Biden wipes his eyes as Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks on the one year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, during a ceremony in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2022.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Sarah Kolinovsky

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