U.S. Mint takes Jan. 6 coin honoring officers who protected the Capitol off its website
The U.S.
The U.S. Mint has removed from its website the gold medals honoring police officers who protected the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot — another instance of President Donald Trump's administration moving to take down material related to the violent episode stemming from his falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election results.
Bronze duplicates of the Congressional Gold Medals that honored officers from the U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department had been available for purchase by the public on the Mint's website.
NBC News reached out to the U.S. Mint on Thursday asking about the removal of the replica medals and did not receive a response.
Former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who was injured by the mob on Jan. 6, told NBC News that he tried to purchase a number of the replica medals this week, planning to hand them out as gifts, and was surprised to see they were no longer available.
Gonell said the erasure of the medals fits in a broader pattern, pointing to the failure of Congress to place a memorial for law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol up in the building before Trump's second inauguration last month.
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