--- title: Lawmakers Will Hold Up Pencils at SOTU to Honor Charlie Hebdo description: When Obama mentions the Charlie Hebdo attack during his speech, some members of Congress will hold pencils in tribute to those that died. canonical: https://time.com/3675310/state-union-charlie-hebdo-pencils/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-20T21:04:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:43:30.825Z article:section: Politics og:title: Lawmakers Will Hold Up Pencils at SOTU to Honor Charlie Hebdo og:description: When Obama mentions the Charlie Hebdo attack during his speech, some members of Congress will hold pencils in tribute to those that died. og:url: https://time.com/3675310/state-union-charlie-hebdo-pencils/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77db5bd7b533cdab/69877adf524fc06074dec036/charlie-hebdo-pencil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2100 og:image:height: 1181 og:image:alt: BRITAIN-FRANCE-ATTACKS-CHARLIE-HEBDO og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Lawmakers Will Hold Up Pencils at SOTU to Honor Charlie Hebdo twitter:description: When Obama mentions the Charlie Hebdo attack during his speech, some members of Congress will hold pencils in tribute to those that died. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77db5bd7b533cdab/69877adf524fc06074dec036/charlie-hebdo-pencil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Lawmakers Will Hold Up Pencils at SOTU to Honor Charlie Hebdo > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 20, 2015 9:04 PM UTC  A giant pencil is held up at a vigil outside The French Institute in London on Jan. 9, 2015 for the 12 victims of the attack on the Paris offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. A giant pencil is held up at a vigil outside The French Institute in London on Jan. 9, 2015 for the 12 victims of the attack on the Paris offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 20, 2015 9:04 PM UTC Members of Congress will honor the victims of [the _Charlie Hebdo_ attack](http://time.com/3658966/charlie-hebdo-paris-shooting-terror-attack/) during the State of the Union by holding up yellow pencils. A spokeswoman for Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin said that she will hold up a pencil and that they have confirmed that other lawmakers will do so as well. “Rather than divide and intimidate us, these brazen and barbaric attacks have united the international community and prompted a global response in defense of the freedom of expression,” said Eric Harris, press secretary for Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI). Moore will participate in the tribute. The pencil has become a symbol of remembrance and solidarity after the massacre at _Charlie Hebdo_, which many saw as an attack on free speech. 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