Lead: State lawmakers from New York to Maine and Nevada have launched measures to preserve the record of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Representatives such as New York Assemblyman Chuck Lavine and Maine legislator Rafael Macias have introduced bills or passed laws to require public recognition, classroom instruction, or formal archival of witness accounts. These efforts follow federal inaction on some commemorative steps and come amid President Trump’s pardons affecting roughly 1,500 people linked to the riot. Proponents say the state-level moves are intended to guard the historical record and counter what they describe as attempts to erase or rewrite the event.
Key Takeaways
- New York Assemblyman Chuck Lavine, 78, has proposed statewide curriculum requirements to teach students about Jan. 6; the measure must pass by December 2026 to become law.
- Maine passed a law, sponsored by Rafael Macias, to formally record and preserve witness accounts of Jan. 6; Gov. Janet Mills signed it after the 2024 election.
- In Nevada, legislators adopted a resolution condemning President Trump’s pardons of roughly 1,500 Capitol riot defendants and formally denouncing the attack itself.
- The Justice Department removed its online catalogue of Jan. 6 prosecutions after President Trump took office, an action critics cite as evidence of erasure.
- House leaders did not hold a public vigil or install a mandated plaque to honor responding officers this past Jan. 6, prompting state lawmakers to act where federal steps stalled.
- Supporters say the state actions are civic remedies to maintain an accurate public record; opponents have largely declined to back some measures, and in Nevada no Republicans supported the resolution.
Background
Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob breached the U.S. Capitol, is now a focal point of debate over how the nation records its own democratic crises. At the federal level, Congress passed a 2023 law requiring a commemorative plaque listing officers who responded to the violence, but leaders in the House did not implement visible, public recognition on the Capitol grounds this year. The Justice Department carried out the largest criminal prosecutions in U.S. history related to the attack, yet critics point to the removal of related web pages after the 2021–2025 administration change as a sign of shrinking public documentation.
States have different incentives and tools to preserve events in the public record: legislatures can create curricula, codify memorials, archive testimony, or issue nonbinding resolutions. Local officials and veterans-turned-legislators such as Rafael Macias framed their initiatives as corrective steps after witnessing what they describe as a growing tendency to minimize or mischaracterize the events of Jan. 6. The partisan geography is mixed: some measures passed in states that voted for former President Trump in 2024, while other proposals have stalled amid partisan opposition, especially among Republicans wary of federal overreach or of taking a position on contested narratives.
Main Event
In New York, Assemblyman Chuck Lavine has introduced a bill that would require public schools to provide instruction about Jan. 6 and its aftermath. Lavine, first elected to state office in 2005 and based in Glen Cove, frames the bill as a defense against historical amnesia: he argues students must learn the facts of the attack to prevent repetition. The proposal sits among other local legislative priorities on Lavine’s desk but is positioned as time-sensitive because it must clear the legislature by December 2026 to take effect.
In Maine, Rafael Macias, a military veteran elected to the state legislature in 2024, made his first bill a formal remembrance law. The statute requires the state to collect and preserve witness statements documenting what happened on Jan. 6, a move supporters say will create an official archival record immune to future erasure. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, signed the bill, and Macias has publicly said his concern is not partisan but about the integrity of democratic memory.
Nevada lawmakers passed a nonbinding resolution condemning President Trump’s pardons for many defendants tied to the Capitol attack and formally denouncing the assault itself. Sponsor Assemblymember Steve Yeager, a former public defender, emphasized the resolution’s role in countering what he called a whitewashing of the event and said he found no Republican votes in favor, even from some former law-enforcement legislators. The resolution was forwarded to Nevada’s congressional delegation and the White House as a formal statement of the legislature’s position.
Analysis & Implications
The spread of state initiatives illustrates how subnational governments can act to preserve collective memory when federal action is stalled or contested. Education mandates and archival laws create official, durable records that are harder to remove than transient online pages or ephemeral statements. If more states pass similar measures, school curricula and state archives could become important sites where future generations encounter a standardized account of Jan. 6.
Politically, these measures sharpen cultural and partisan divides over national memory. Where legislatures are split, preservation efforts may become proxy battles over civic identity, with critics arguing that mandated instruction risks politicizing classrooms and supporters insisting on factual clarity. The absence of bipartisan support for some resolutions—illustrated by Nevada’s unanimous Republican abstention—suggests these debates will continue to map onto broader polarization over the 2024 election and its aftermath.
Legally, most state-level actions—especially resolutions—carry symbolic weight rather than immediate judicial consequences, but education requirements and archival statutes have concrete long-term effects. Teaching standards can shape textbooks, professional development, and testing; archival statutes can obligate state agencies to retain oral histories and primary records. Those administrative commitments can outlast political cycles and create institutional memory outside federal jurisdiction.
Comparison & Data
| Jurisdiction | Action | Legal Effect |
|---|---|---|
| New York | Proposed school instruction mandate (Assembly) | Requires passage by Dec. 2026 to take effect |
| Maine | Law to preserve witness accounts (2024–25) | State archival obligation (signed by governor) |
| Nevada | Resolution condemning pardons and attack | Symbolic legislative statement; forwarded to federal officials |
| Federal | 2023 plaque law; DOJ prosecutions | Plaque not visibly installed; prosecutions catalog reportedly removed from DOJ site |
The table shows a mix of binding and symbolic actions. State statutes in Maine create administrative duties for preservation; New York’s proposal would shape public education if enacted; Nevada’s measure is an official expression without direct enforcement powers. Together they form a patchwork of policy responses aimed at maintaining a public record of Jan. 6 across different government levels.
Reactions & Quotes
Supporters argue these moves are civic corrections where federal steps have faltered. Before the Nevada vote, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn urged lawmakers to act to counter erasure, highlighting the perspective of first responders who say their ordeals have been insufficiently recognized.
“The idea is to require New York students to be instructed about what happened on Jan. 6 and its aftermath. We can’t sweep history under the rug,”
Chuck Lavine, New York Assemblyman
Assemblyman Lavine framed education as an obligation to truth rather than political messaging. He described the proposal as part of civic responsibility, saying that while political beliefs vary, facts should not be altered to fit a narrative.
“People were outraged not just about Jan. 6, but about the pardons. There has been a whitewashing of this event,”
Steve Yeager, Nevada Assemblymember
Yeager stressed that his background as a public defender informed his approach: the resolution was meant to correct public distortions and to honor those who were attacked, including police. He also noted the surprising absence of Republican co-sponsors.
“I applaud these states and encourage more to take these efforts and combat Trump’s efforts to completely erase what happened on Jan. 6,”
Harry Dunn, former U.S. Capitol Police officer
Dunn’s testimony in Nevada underscored the emotional and institutional stakes for officers who responded on Jan. 6 and who have sought formal recognition of their service and sacrifices.
Unconfirmed
- Whether the Justice Department’s removal of some Jan. 6 pages was motivated by policy or routine website reorganization remains contested and not fully documented in public records.
- The long-term political impact of state-level educational mandates on public opinion about Jan. 6 is uncertain and depends on implementation, textbook adoption, and local school governance.
Bottom Line
With federal commemorative steps incomplete and the 2024–25 political era reshaping narratives about Jan. 6, state governments have emerged as active sites for preserving the event’s record. Measures range from classroom mandates to archival laws and symbolic resolutions; together they reflect a patchwork strategy to ensure that future generations encounter a documented account of what occurred at the Capitol.
The effectiveness of these initiatives will hinge on legal design, bipartisan support, and administrative follow-through. If enacted widely, state actions could institutionalize a version of the Jan. 6 record that endures beyond short-term political shifts; if they remain isolated or symbolic, their influence may be limited. Observers should watch how curricula are written, how oral histories are archived, and whether more states adopt comparable measures.
Sources
- CBS News (News report)