Michigan SOS Benson to receive Presidential Citizens Medal on Jan. 6 anniversary

President Biden to acknowledge Benson, 11 others Friday

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, attends an Election Night party, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) (Carlos Osorio, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

WASHINGTON – In honor of her “work protecting democracy,” Michigan’s secretary of state is poised to receive a Presidential Citizens Medal on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the nation’s Capitol.

A ceremony is scheduled to take place at the White House on Friday, Jan. 6, to award a dozen Presidential Citizens Medals to Americans who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.” Among those 12 honorees will be Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who was just recently voted into office for a second term.

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The Presidential Citizens Medal, which was created by President Richard Nixon in 1969, is the country’s second highest civilian honor after the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

According to Benson’s office, the state secretary is being recognized for protecting democracy at a time when it’s being threatened by dangerous political rhetoric and false claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 presidential election and beyond. Such dangerous rhetoric inspired thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn the election results in Trump’s favor.

U.S. lawmakers were meeting that day to certify the election results declaring now-President Joe Biden the victor of the 2020 presidential election. Five people died in association with the attack, several people were injured -- including Capitol police officers -- and lawmakers fled for their safety, hiding as insurrectionists trespassed inside the Capitol Building.

Secretary Benson, a Democrat, has consistently maintained that elections in Michigan are safe, secure and transparent. She has also denounced claims of widespread election fraud, saying in 2021 that the Republican lawmakers and national figures pushing the lie were only working to “undermine citizens’ faith in our democracy and dissuade them from being engaged and informed voters in future elections.”

The state, like many others, went through a series of audits of 2020 election votes and found no evidence of widespread fraud.

Benson was sworn into office on Jan. 1 for her second term as the 43rd Michigan secretary of state after defeating Republican opponent Kristina Karamo in the 2022 midterm election. During her first term, Benson oversaw the highest election turnouts in Michigan history and has succeeded in making elections more accessible to Michigan voters.

“I stand before you today with the firm belief that every citizen deserves to live in a state where their voice is heard and where truth prevails,” Benson said on Sunday. “Where government works for everyone and where we work together -- as Democrats, Republicans and Independents -- to ensure our state is safe, strong, and free. That’s who we are as Michiganders and as Americans.

“We will emerge from this time in our history with a stronger democracy and a stronger Michigan. It is the greatest honor of my life to serve as your Secretary of State. I am grateful for your trust and your support, and I am ready to continue working hard and fighting harder every day in my service to you and to the interests of our state, our people, and our democracy.”

Read more: Historic term begins in Michigan as Whitmer, others sworn in

Benson will be joined Friday by the following 11 medal recipients (as written by the state secretary’s office):

  • Rusty Bowers served as the Arizona House Speaker during the 2020 election, resisting pressure from those seeking to overturn the election results. He received the 2022 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award.
  • Harry Dunn is a Capitol police officer who defended the Capitol on January 6, facing racial slurs and harassment from rioters. Dunn has served in the Capitol Police force for nearly 15 years.
  • Caroline Edwards was the first law enforcement officer injured by rioters on January 6. Even after suffering a traumatic brain injury, Officer Edwards worked to prevent rioters from entering the Capitol building. Officer Edwards has served in law enforcement for nearly six years.
  • Michael Fanone served as a Metropolitan Police Department officer and defended the Capitol on January 6, suffering injuries during the attack. After the attack, he resigned from the Metropolitan Police Department, having served for 20 years after joining in the wake of September 11.
  • Ruby Freeman served as an election worker in Fulton County, Georgia, during the 2020 election. Ms. Freeman worked to ensure that the people of Georgia could vote freely and fairly, and, for simply doing her job, was forced to withstand efforts to overturn the election that targeted and threatened her and her family.
  • Aquilino Gonell served as a Capitol police sergeant and defended the Capitol on January 6, suffering injuries during the attack. Sergeant Gonell is an emigrant from the Dominican Republic and a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq.
  • Eugene Goodman is a Capitol police officer who defended the Capitol on January 6. He is credited with diverting rioters from the floor of the Senate while members were still evacuating. Officer Goodman is a U.S. Army veteran and, from January 20, 2021, to March 2, 2021, served as Acting Deputy Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate.
  • Daniel Hodges is a Metropolitan Police Department officer who defended the Capitol on January 6, suffering injuries during the attack. The day of the attack was Hodges’s first time ever in the Capitol. Officer Hodges has served in the Metropolitan Police Department for over seven years.
  • Shaye Moss served as an election worker in Fulton County, Georgia, during the 2020 election. Like her mother, Ruby Freeman -- who was also a Fulton County election worker and will also receive the Presidential Citizen Medal -- Ms. Moss was subjected to threats and harassment in the wake of the election. Ms. Moss received the 2022 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award.
  • Al Schmidt is a former federal civil servant and served as a city commissioner on the Philadelphia County Board of Elections. During the 2020 election, he kept the vote tally going in the face of pressure and efforts to overturn the election.
  • Brian Sicknick (posthumous) was a Capitol police officer who defended the Capitol on January 6. After he lost his life protecting our elected representatives, Officer Sicknick was laid in honor in the Capitol rotunda in February 2021. The president, the first lady, the vice president, and the second gentleman visited to pay respects. In addition to guarding the Capitol for over a decade, Officer Sicknick also served in the New Jersey Air National Guard and was deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan.

Related: Proud Boys go to trial on sedition as Jan. 6 probe heats up


About the Author:

Cassidy Johncox is a senior digital news editor covering stories across the spectrum, with a special focus on politics and community issues.