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

In an interview with ABC News Live on Thursday, Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin reflected on the whirlwind period between the death of his 25-year-old son and Trump's second impeachment trial following the attack.

Raskin's son, Tommy Raskin, died by suicide on New Year's Eve 2020. The day after his son was buried, Raskin was on Capitol Hill when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol.

"The day after we buried Tommy in a small family COVID-19 graveside service, we had the violent insurrection at the Capitol and the attempt to overthrow the 2020 presidential election by Donald Trump," said Raskin, who wrote about the experience in his new book, "Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy."

"I felt like I had an obligation to do it, that Tommy would be completely with me the whole way," Raskin said. "And this was a chance to try to stand up and articulate, not just my love, but our family's love, of our Constitution and our freedom and our democracy and the idea of human rights -- the opposite of everything that was on display on Jan. 6."

Raskin is a member of the Jan. 6 House select committee tasked with investigating the attack. To date, the committee has issued at least 50 subpoenas to individuals for information, according to an ABC News count, with at least 19 of those being Trump administration officials. It has conducted more than 300 depositions.

-ABC News' Allie Yang

Ahead of calling for a moment of silence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the attack last year and highlighted the "courage and patriotism" of the law enforcement officers she said served as "defenders of our democracy."

"Because of them, Congress was able to defeat the insurrection -- to return to the Capitol that same night to ensure that the peaceful transfer of power took place. Because of them and our members, the insurrection failed," she said. "As we reflect on that darkest day, we remember that the insurrection sought not only to attack the building, but to undermine democracy itself."

"When the violent assault was made on the Capitol, its purpose was to thwart Congress's constitutional duty to validate the electoral count and to ensure the peaceful transfer of power -- but the assault did not deter us from our duty," Pelosi added, going on to call the Capitol, a "symbol of democracy to the world."

Before leading the chamber -- and all those watching -- in a moment of silence, Pelosi named those officers who died during or after the Capitol assault, and asked members to "rise for a moment of silence in their memory."

While dozens of Democrats were present, Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., were apparently the lone Republicans in the House chamber for the moment of silence on Jan. 6.