史密森尼美国历史国家博物馆收藏的早期历史文物对美国国会大厦的袭击在2021年1月6日，包括一名记者被袭击时穿的防弹衣和写有暴力言论的标语。
一个牌子上写着“砍掉他们的头”，呼应了冲进国会大厦并威胁立法者生命的暴徒们所高呼的令人不寒而栗的话语。
“那些都是沉重的迹象。他们显然花了一些时间重新粉刷，有人带着螺栓和工具来把它们固定在街道的柱子上。所以，他们没有带着这些东西到处走。他们希望他们在一个人们可以看到他们的地方，并大概认为他们会在那里呆很长时间，”该博物馆的政治历史馆长克莱尔·杰里告诉美国广播公司新闻，他用印刷和喷涂在大而厚的金属片上的文字描述了这个标志和收藏品中的其他东西。
何塞·路易斯·马加纳/美联社档案
2021年1月6日，忠于美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的暴徒在华盛顿美国国会大厦集会。
袭击发生后的几天里，博物馆收集了几件文物。就像他们经常做的那样，尤其是在美国的首都，他们派出了一个快速反应小组，在国家广场和国会大厦周围收集和保存废弃的材料。杰里说，在某些情况下，她的工作人员试图走在清洁人员的前面，收集重要的材料，否则这些材料可能会丢失。
博物馆工作人员说，去年引进新文物是一个挑战，因为新冠肺炎限制以及广泛的、持续的执法调查。但该团队很快谈到了那一天的历史意义，因为它与国家政治、2020年竞选和选举有关。
“总统权力的和平移交是1800年以来美国民主的中流砥柱，但随着数千名暴徒(其中许多人举着特朗普的横幅和标语)暴力突破警察安保进入国会大厦，这一和平移交被有意中断。这是自1812年英国军队袭击国会大厦以来，国会大厦首次被大规模攻破，”博物馆工作人员在本周的新闻稿中写道。
700多起针对暴乱者的刑事案件被提起，近200人已经认罪。数十名执法官员在袭击中受伤，其中许多人住院并失业数月。
该博物馆的伊丽莎白·麦克米伦(Elizabeth MacMillan)馆长安西娅·m·哈蒂格(Anthea M. Hartig)说:“1月6日对国会大厦和美国民主共和国基础的袭击，暴露了我们政治体系的脆弱性。”作为国家的旗舰历史博物馆，我们的工作人员致力于记录，最重要的是，为后代保存这段历史，以了解那段令人担忧的日子是如何展开的，并跟踪其持续影响。"
其中包括一组来自全国各地的国民警卫队徽章，他们在袭击发生后几天内做出了回应，以及一名自由摄影师在1月6日晚上在国会大厦遭到一名女性暴徒袭击时穿的防弹衣。
安德鲁·哈尼克/美联社档案
1月7日凌晨，地面上可以看到一面写着“叛国”的旗帜..
袭击者的刀锋直穿记者马德琳·凯利夹克的厚重材料。这次袭击显然是暴力和有力的。凯利认为这件夹克即使不能救她的命，也能保证她的安全。
“我们从视频和照片中得知，媒体确实遭到了攻击。那里藏着相机，这是一个重要的故事，”摄影策展人香农·佩里奇在博物馆告诉美国广播公司。背心展示在一个人体模型上，这个模型被设计成接近凯利的尺寸。
“她的身体没有威胁，但她在拍照，这是威胁。这是一个有趣的故事，以这种方式思考摄影的力量，”佩里奇补充道。
Jan. 6 artifacts collected at American History Museum point to organization, planning and violence
The early collection of historical artifacts collected by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History documentingthe attack on the U.S. CapitolonJan. 6, 2021, includes a flak jacket worn by a journalist when she was attacked and signs with violent rhetoric.
"Off with their heads," one sign reads, echoing the chilling words chanted by rioters who stormed the Capitol and threatened the lives of lawmakers.
"Those are heavy signs. They clearly took some time to repaint, and someone came with bolts and tools to attach them to street poles. So, they were not walking around carrying those. They wanted them to be someplace where people could see them and presumably thought that they would stay there for a long time," Claire Jerry, curator of political history at the museum told ABC News, describing the sign and others in the collection with words stenciled and spray-painted on large, thick sheets of metal.
On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.
The museum collected several artifacts in the days immediately following the attack. As they often do, especially in the nation's capital city, they sent out a rapid response team to pick up and preserve discarded material on the National Mall and around the Capitol buildings. Jerry said in some cases, her staff tried to stay ahead of cleaning crews to gather significant material that otherwise might have been lost.
Museum staff says it's been a challenge to bring in new artifacts this last year, because ofCOVID-19 restrictionsand extensive, ongoing law enforcement investigations. But the team was quick to talk about the historical significance of that day as it related to the nation's politics, and the 2020 campaign and election.
"This peaceful transfer of presidential authority, the mainstay of the American democracy since 1800, was intentionally interrupted as thousands of rioters, many carrying Trump banners and signs, violently broke through police security and entered the Capitol. This was the first time that the Capitol had been breached on a large scale since the War of 1812 when British troops attacked the city," museum staff wrote in a press release this week.
Over 700 criminal cases have been brought against rioters and nearly 200 individuals have already pleaded guilty. Dozens of law enforcements officials were injured during the attack, many of them hospitalized and out of work for months.
"The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and on the foundation of the United States' democratic republic, revealed the fragility of our political system," said Anthea M. Hartig, the museum's Elizabeth MacMillan director. "As the nation's flagship history museum, our staff is committed to documenting and, most importantly, preserving this history for future generations to understand how the events of that fraught day unfolded and to track their ongoing impacts."
Included in the collection is a group of National Guard insignia from units from around the country who responded in days after the attack, as well as a flak jacket worn by a freelance photographer when she was attacked by a female rioter on the Capitol ground the evening of Jan. 6.
The attacker's knife blade pierced straight through the heavy material of journalist Madeleine Kelly's jacket. The attack was clearly violent and forceful. Kelly credits the jacket with keeping her safe, if not saving her life.
"We know from video and from photographs that the press was literally attacked. There were stashed cameras, and this is an important story to tell," Shannon Perich, photography curator, told ABC at the museum. The vest is displayed on a mannequin that is designed to be close to Kelly's size.
"Her physicality was not threatening, but she was taking photographs and that was threatening. And this is an interesting story to think about the power of photography in that way," Perich added.
