Biden's decision to use his speech on the anniversary to squarely blame Trump and Republican allies for their role in the unprecedented attack on US democracy will mark a sharp escalation in Biden's approach to Trump and the riot.
Through the first year of his presidency, Biden has preferred mostly to ignore Trump, who still refuses to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and continues to spread conspiracy theories to his millions of followers about being the true winner.
But in a speech from inside the Capitol's Statuary Hall -- where exactly a year ago a Trump mob rampaged through to try and stop certification of Biden's election win -- the Democratic president will firmly call out his predecessor's responsibility, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.
"President Biden has been clear eyed about the threat the former president represents to our democracy," she said.
"He sees January 6 as a tragic culmination of what those four years under President Trump did to our country" and will "forcibly push back on the lie spread by the former president in an attempt to mislead the American people."
Asked if Biden would use Trump's name, Psaki said "we're finalizing the speech, but I think people will know whom he's referring to."
Earlier Wednesday, the Capitol police chief, Thomas Manger, said his forces would not be caught unprepared again, as they were last year.
"I am confident that the US Capitol Police is a stronger, better prepared law enforcement agency," Manger told a Senate hearing, recalling the desperate struggle his officers put up against "a violent mob and vastly outnumbered."
Attorney General Merrick Garland was also to spell out efforts to "hold accountable those responsible" for the mayhem and underline law enforcement's "unwavering commitment to defend Americans and American democracy," the Justice Department said.
However, in the political sphere, the country remains dangerously divided.
Underlining the stunning partisan split, senior Republicans appear set to skip commemorations organized by the Democratic-led Congress on Thursday, including Biden's speech and a prayer vigil.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was set to be away in Atlanta, Georgia, attending the funeral of the late senator Johnny Isakson, his office said.
In an opinion piece on Fox News, Republican Senator Josh Hawley, a leading supporter of false claims that Biden's 2020 victory was suspect, referred to January 6 as a "demonstration" that "some demonstrators" marred.
"Gathering for a political demonstration is not a crime. On the contrary, it is a right expressly protected by the US Constitution," he wrote.
Trump himself continues to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen by Biden -- a conspiracy theory dismantled in multiple court findings and vote recounts. He had been planning a press conference at his Florida home to steal the limelight on Thursday, but abruptly abandoned the plan in a statement Tuesday that nevertheless continued to claim that the 2020 election was a "crime."
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