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‘He did not bend, he did not bow’: Biden honors ex-Philly elections official Al Schmidt

“Our democracy was attacked, there’s no other way of saying it,” Biden said as he awarded medals to elections officers, public officials, and police on the second anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021.

President Joe Biden awards the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, to Al Schmidt, former city commissioner of Philadelphia, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
President Joe Biden awards the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, to Al Schmidt, former city commissioner of Philadelphia, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)Read moreAP

WASHINGTON — In a grave White House ceremony Friday, President Joe Biden awarded one of the nation’s highest civilian honors to former Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt and other elections administrators, public officials, and law enforcement officers who either resisted attempts to usurp the 2020 presidential election or fought back against rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Our democracy was attacked, there’s no other way of saying it,” Biden said in the White House’s East Room, standing before five American flags, gold curtains, and a roster of honorees who were on the front lines of opposing election lies and the deadly riot that followed.

Biden said the 14 recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal — including three police officers honored posthumously — “embody the best, before, during, and after Jan. 6, 2021.” The medal is one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

Biden presented the medals, the first time he has given them, on the second anniversary of the attack on the Capitol in which rioters attempted to keep then-President Donald Trump in office.

Schmidt, a Republican, gained widespread notice for resisting Trump’s attempts to shut down Philadelphia’s vote count after the 2020 election, pushing forward in the face of death threats to him and his family.

“He did his job faithfully. He did not bend, he did not bow, he did not yield to the political pressure,” Biden said. “He’s so trusted, by both political parties, that the new Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, appointed him as secretary of state of Pennsylvania to ensure the integrity of the election.”

Schmidt called the award “an incredible honor,” adding that he felt he was representing all manner of elections officials who faced similar pressure.

“I’m a representative of so many election workers across our country, Democrats and Republicans alike, who make our democracy possible,” he said in an interview at the White House. “In a lot of ways there was nothing unique about my experience. Plenty of people experienced the same thing that I did in the 2020 election, regardless of where they were in the country, regardless of their party affiliation. So it’s really in a way important for me to see it as a matter of accepting this on their behalf.”

Shapiro, the governor-elect, announced his plan to nominate Schmidt this week, a move that would give Schmidt oversight over the 2024 presidential election in Pennsylvania, when the state is likely to again be a hotly contested battleground.

» READ MORE: Al Schmidt, a Republican former Philly elections official, named as Josh Shapiro’s Pa. secretary of state

Schmidt said he expects to continue confronting threats to elections and democracy.

“I don’t have any doubt that it’s important that we remain vigilant in doing what we can to strengthen democracy and combat misinformation and lies seeking to undermine it,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt and his colleagues in the Philadelphia City Commissioners came under intense pressure from Trump and his allies to stop counting legitimate votes after the 2020 election, but continued the process as Biden won Pennsylvania and the presidency.

Other honorees Friday included:

  1. Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state during the 2020 election who resisted pressure from election deniers.

  2. Rusty Bowers, the Arizona House speaker during the 2020 election who also faced pressure to overturn the results.

  3. Harry Dunn, a Capitol Police officer who defended the Capitol and faced both physical violence and racial slurs.

  4. Caroline Edwards, the first law enforcement officer injured by the Capitol rioters.

  5. Michael Fanone, an officer with Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department who defended the Capitol and was injured during the attack. He has since resigned from the force.

  6. Ruby Freeman, an election worker in Fulton County, Ga., who resisted pressure to overturn the results and faced personal threats.

  7. Aquilino Gonell, a Capitol Police sergeant who defended the Capitol.

  8. Eugene Goodman, the Capitol Police officer who, in a moment captured on video and widely circulated, single-handedly diverted rioters who approached the Senate floor while senators were evacuating.

  9. Daniel Hodges, a Metropolitan Police Department officer who defended the Capitol.

  10. Howard C. Liebengood, a Capitol Police officer who was on duty during the riot and died by suicide days later.

  11. Shaye Moss, an election worker in Fulton County, Ga., and Freeman’s daughter, who also faced threats and harassment after the election.

  12. Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer and New Jersey native who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 and died the next day.

  13. Jeffrey L. Smith, a Metropolitan Police officer who was dispatched to the riot and took his own life days later.