Benson is among 12 Americans on whom President Joe Biden will bestow the Presidential Citizens Medal. In the weeks following the 2020 election, Benson withstood pressure from supporters of former President Donald Trump to overturn the results in his favor. Benson recalls the night when about two dozen armed protesters showed up outside her Detroit home.
“What was clear to me that evening when people were gathered outside my home was the same thing that so many people in my profession have felt, which is our duty to protect every voice and every vote…which is a duty I am proud to fulfill and what this recognition really affirms.”
Benson will receive the Presidential Citizens Medal in a White House ceremony at 2 pm Friday, the second anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.