(NewsNation) — Police in a federal lawsuit have asked a judge to pressure the architect of the U.S. Capitol to install a memorial plaque honoring officers who protected the building on Jan. 6, 2021.
In June, former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges sued Thomas Austin, according to Law & Crime.
The lawsuit claims Austin, who was appointed by Congress in June 2024, was to install the plaque in question, in line with the mandates of a law passed in 2022.
“Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges were among the officers who protected the Capitol from rioters on January 6, 2021,” the latest motion says. “For their bravery, they and their fellow officers were to be honored with a plaque at the Capitol, to be installed by March 15, 2023. Years since that deadline passed, the plaque is not installed, and Officers Dunn and Hodges seek to have the Architect of the Capitol comply with the law and ensure that history is not forgotten.”
Earlier this month, Austin argued Dunn and Hodges lacked standing while also filing a defective complaint by asking for relief that is not legally available to them.
“The Act does not confer any private right of action to any individual who may be included on the list of names or impose any duty on the Architect to them,” Austin argued in part of his motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Hodges and Dunn say Austin has not provided a plausible reason for why the plaque is not hanging.