Jan. 6 fifth anniversary highlights ongoing divisions at the U.S. Capitol

On the fifth anniversary of Jan. 6, there was no single official memorial and political leaders marked the day with separate events and competing hearings; Democrats reconvened a committee to hear testimony while some Republicans held private meetings and opened their own probes.

Five years after the events of Jan. 6, 2021, the anniversary is being marked without a shared official memorial and with separate activities by opposing political groups. The two parties remain at odds over how to describe the events that day as Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential result. Some Republican lawmakers are meeting privately with former President Donald Trump, while Democratic leaders are holding hearings and a public remembrance on the Capitol steps. The dispute extends to legal and procedural questions arising from the aftermath. Current record and actions: - The article reports there is no single, agreed-upon memorial and the official plaque honoring Capitol police has not been installed. - Republicans are meeting privately with the former president at the Kennedy Center, and some GOP members have formed a new subcommittee to investigate security issues and alternative explanations for the events. - Democratic leaders have reconvened the Jan. 6 committee to hear testimony from police and others about what happened that day. - Legal context noted in the article includes a prior Justice Department indictment related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election that was not pursued after the subject was re-elected, a Supreme Court ruling on ex-presidential immunity, and reports that more than 1,500 defendants saw charges dropped following a presidential pardon. Summary: The fifth anniversary is unfolding with separate commemorations and competing investigations rather than a shared account of Jan. 6. Congressional hearings and party-led probes are continuing, and legal questions from the aftermath remain unresolved.