Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was given the Presidential Citizens Award by President Joe Biden on Friday; The award was meant to honor her service in office and mark the second anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The award given to her by the President himself is meant for a person “who has performed exemplary deeds or services for his or her country or fellow citizens.”
“An armed mob outside her home on Christmas Eve when she and her son were decorating their Christmas tree inside,” said Biden during his speech about Benson.
Biden was retelling the story of when a group of election-denying protestors (some with weapons) showed up at Benson’s house at night to shout in the street in front of her home.
“She refused to back down,” Biden said. “She’d done her duty. She’d kept her oath. Full of integrity. She is a true leader in our nation. Thank you, thank you, thank you for what you’ve done.”
Eleven others joined Benson on stage. Seven others were Capitol or D.C. police officers who helped save Congress members’ lives during the insurrection. Several were injured; The late officer Brian Sicknick was also honored with a medal. Sicknick died in the wake of the attack.
The others were like Benson as well. Several were election workers from Georgia, and others were officials from Arizona and Pennsylvania who were threatened and stood against disproven claims about a stolen election after 2020.
The award isn’t Benson’s first for her work after Jan. 6. She was awarded a President John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award in April of 2022 for similar service.