Gov. Janet Mills has signed into law a bill creating an annual observance of the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
The new law requires Mills and future governors to issue a proclamation on the anniversary of the riots that honors the resiliency of democracy and encourages libraries and educational institutions to hold discussions about the event, civic engagement and the rule of law.
The bill comes as President Donald Trump has attempted to rewrite the history of the riots, which were stoked by his unfounded claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
The president pardoned nearly all 1,600 of those charged or convicted of crimes during the riots, including people who assaulted police officers and right-wing militants convicted of seditious conspiracy. He has described the rioters as patriots and political prisoners and floated creating a taxpayer-funded compensation fund.
The bill commemorating the attacks cleared the Democratic controlled legislature along party lines and after a heated debate in the Maine House. Several states have passed similar measures.
