Public schools in Virginia would be required to describe the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as an “unprecedented, violent attack” under new legislation introduced in the General Assembly.
Delegate Dan Helmer, Fairfax Democrat, filed the legislation ahead of this year’s legislative session, which begins Wednesday.
The bill would prohibit instructional materials from portraying the Jan. 6 riot as a peaceful protest or suggesting that extensive election fraud could have changed the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Schools that teach about the event would be required to describe the riot as an “unprecedented, violent attack on U.S. democratic institutions, infrastructure, and representatives for the purpose of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election,” according to the legislation’s language.
The requirements would not apply to private schools, and public schools would not be required to teach about the event.
The legislation does not call for changes to statewide curriculum standards or criminal penalties for non-compliance. It would only set statutory limits on how the event can be taught in a school’s curriculum.
Mr. Helmer described his bill as a way to “make sure that our history is protected” in Virginia.
“The attempted violent overthrow of our elected government on January 6th, 2021 was a tragedy with no precedent in American history. Trump and MAGA Republicans across the country are trying to rewrite this history — turning traitors into patriots,” he said in a press release. “But Virginians remember our history. We remember the Virginia State Police and National Guard who protected our democracy as Donald Trump egged on a violent mob.”
This is not the first time Mr. Helmer has introduced legislation about Jan. 6: On the second anniversary of the riot, he filed a bill that would have barred anyone convicted of participating in the riot from serving in public office in Virginia. That bill died in a committee.
On Jan. 6, a group of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to halt Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results and Joseph R. Biden’s victory over President Trump. Some fought with U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers. About 1,500 participants eventually were charged with riot-related crimes.
Soon after reentering office last year, Mr. Trump issued sweeping pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, describing them as “mere trespassers or peaceful protesters treated as insurrectionists by a weaponized Biden DOJ.”
In the five years since Jan. 6, Democrats and Republicans have wrestled to control the narrative about what happened that day.
The House select committee that investigated the incident deemed it to be part of Mr. Trump’s plan to overturn the election.
But a new White House web page, unveiled on the riot’s fifth anniversary, states: “The Democrats masterfully reversed reality after January 6, branding peaceful patriotic protesters as ‘insurrectionists’ and framing the event as a violent coup attempt orchestrated by Trump — despite no evidence of armed rebellion or intent to overthrow the government.”
The web page says Democrats staged the insurrection by “certifying a fraud-ridden election, ignoring widespread irregularities, and weaponizing federal agencies to hunt down dissenters.”
