Senior Democrats on Friday led a large and poignant gathering on the steps of the US Capitol in Washington to commemorate the “solemn day” on the second anniversary of the deadly January 6 insurrection by extremist supporters of Donald Trump.

Hundreds of members of Congress paid tribute to five police officers whose deaths have been tied to the violent insurrection in 2021, as rioters overwhelmed law enforcement and broke into the Capitol at the urging of the then president, intent on stopping the official certification of his election defeat by Joe Biden.

Many were in tears at Friday morning’s event, including Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker who had to flee for safety two years ago as the mob rampaged through the Capitol, calling out for her and invading her office while members of her staff hid in fear for their lives.

Pelosi’s replacement as the most senior Democrat in the House, the new minority leader and New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries, paid tribute to the deceased police officers.

“Many more will forever be scarred by the bloodthirsty violence of the insurrection of this mob,” he said.

Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick died not long after being attacked by the mob. Four other police officers affected by the events that day later took their own lives.

The ceremony included families of the fallen officers reading out their names, with the tolling of a bell, and concluded with 140 seconds of silence, one for each of the 140 law enforcement officers injured during the attack.

Jeffries announced it was a bipartisan gathering of lawmakers, but there was no sign of Republican leadership. Many Republican House members were engaged in a simultaneous conference call with Kevin McCarthy as he pleaded for their support in his epic struggle to become the next speaker of the House.

One Republican Congress member was spotted by CNN as being at the event, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

Jeffries said: “We stand here today with our democracy intact because of those officers. Violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol and attempted to halt the peaceful transfer of power, a cornerstone of our republic. They failed.

“They failed because of the bravery and valor of the United States Capitol police and the Metropolitan police department officers who fought heroically to defend our democracy. We will never forget their sacrifice and we will never forget this day.”

Pelosi dabbed at tears as she listened to Jeffries’ remarks.

Then she added: “The January 6 insurrection shook our republic to the core.”

She noted that many inside and outside Congress still held the “physical, psychological and emotional scars” of an unprecedented day in modern American democracy.