Officer Brian Sicknick
his partner widow came to 1/6 hearings?
harry dunn? fanone
lawsuit?
julie kelly pow
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an 6 25
no lnx
Trump White House 'engaged' as Republicans attempt 'pathetic' rewrite of J6 history
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures beside U.S. first lady Melania Trump as they leave the U.S. Capitol building on the inauguration day of Donald Trump's second presidential term in Washington, U.S. January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Matt Lasloand Raw StoryJune 27, 2025 | 07:32AM ET
WASHINGTON — The Jan. 6, 2021 attack is once again the talk of Capitol Hill.
While Democrats are hanging replica plaques across the Capitol pressuring Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to display an official congressionally-mandated plaque honoring Capitol Police officers for defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, President Donald Trump continues quietly pressuring Republican congressional leaders to formally investigate the bipartisan select Jan. 6 committee that disbanded in 2023.
“The president wants it,” Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) told Raw Story.
Even so, the ball seems to be in Johnson's court, and he’s remained mum since saying he would launch his own J6 investigation at the start of the year.
Low-level form of legislative civil disobedience
In 2022, while the Capitol was still undergoing post-riot repairs, lawmakers from both parties came together and passed a law requiring a plaque for the west front of the Capitol — where officers were first overrun on Jan. 6, 2021 — honoring the men and women of the Capitol Police who protected Congress in the face of violent insurrectionists.
Three years later and there’s still no official plaque, which is why a handful of House Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), unveiled their own replica plaques this week.
“It is a very low-level form of legislative civil disobedience,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told Raw Story.
As the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Raskin says the speaker is flaunting the very Constitution he swore an oath to uphold.
“The speaker is in violation of the law. That's an indefensible posture for a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives,” Raskin said. “Our poster replicas are saying, we are going to go ahead and honor the officers until Mike Johnson starts following the law.”
To many of the lawmakers left trapped in the House gallery on Jan. 6, 2021, let alone Capitol Police officers themselves, the plaque is personal.
“It's important so that nobody ever forgets the truth,” Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) told Raw Story.
Escobar says the refusal to hang the plaque shows Republican "tough on crime" rhetoric is mere lip service.
“It’s evidence of the fact that they really aren't interested in supporting law enforcement. That's what it comes down to,” Escobar said. “They are so afraid of Donald Trump, and these were his soldiers.”
Democrats accuse the speaker of thumbing his nose at the Capitol Police officers who protect him daily.
“It's pathetic,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) told Raw Story. “The speaker won't put it up. So I don't know what the hell's the problem, but it's an insult to our brave men and women in law enforcement who protected us that day.”
McGovern’s the top Democrat — or ranking member — of the House Rules Committee, which plays the all-important role of providing parameters for debate before any measure can be voted on by the full House of Representatives.
The veteran Massachusetts congressman says he plans to use that perch to regularly remind Republicans of their party’s sin of omission.
“I'm gonna raise it in every Rule I do now,” McGovern said. “Why isn’t the plaque up? Why is it not displayed? Why is he disobeying — why is the speaker disobeying the law?”
The White House is engaged
On the other side of the aisle, some Republicans are also wondering where the official plaque is.
“I'm surprised, personally surprised it hasn't been done," Loudermilk said. “I don't think that's controversial. Regardless of who did what, who started it, who was responsible — there was violence here that the Capitol Police were engaged in.”
Even though Loudermilk wants to investigate the former select Jan. 6 committee, he says commemorating the heroism of the Capitol Police is the least Congress can do.
“We've got some colleagues saying, ‘Well, there's nothing more than a tour.’ I'm like, ‘No, it was way beyond that.’ There was violence,” Loudermilk said. “There was violence on both sides. I mean, of course, police had to counter the violence. I don't have a problem with having the plaque honoring the Capitol Police and what they've done.”
Still, Loudermilk dismisses the work of the bipartisan Jan. 6 select committee, which is why he continues calling on the speaker to let him formally launch his own investigation.
“There's been no movement on it. I would say there's been a negotiation going on, but it's just been a one-sided negotiation,” Loudermilk said.
With Congress rushing to wrap up an array of measures ahead of their July Fourth recess, Loudermilk is hoping to get the speaker’s ear this week.
“I'm hoping by the end of the week we'll have something,” Loudermilk exclusively told Raw Story. “The White House is engaged.”
After interviewing upwards of 1,000 witnesses, reviewing thousands of documents and releasing a detailed 814-page report on their findings, Democrats who served on the panel dismiss this latest White House effort as a smokescreen intended to distract from the damning details they uncovered.
“The January 6 select committee may have produced the most successful legislative investigation, certainly in the 21st Century, and one of the most successful ones in the history of the US Congress,” Raskin told Raw Story. “We produced a report. They have not laid a glove on a single detail in that report. They're trying to rewrite history.”
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washington (CNN)US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick suffered strokes and died of natural causes one day after responding to the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Washington DC's chief medical examiner has determined.
The medical examiner, Francisco Diaz, didn't note any evidence that Sicknick had an allergic reaction to chemical spray or list any internal or external injuries, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the ruling. Still, Diaz told the newspaper that "all that transpired" on January 6 "played a role in his condition."
The ruling all but ensures that the Justice Department won't be able to pursue homicide charges in Sicknick's death. In March, two men -- Julian Elie Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of West Virginia -- were arrested and charged with assaulting Sicknick.
Attorneys for Khater and Tanios declined to comment to CNN in response to the Post report. [had (used?) bear spray but they had no intent to use on humans, just bears on the mall?]
no lnx
The pair traveled together to DC for the pro-Trump rally and have been charged with 10 criminal counts including conspiring to injure police and assaulting officers using a dangerous weapon. The charges have never connected the assault to Sicknick's death, and prosecutors have not sought to hold any rioters accountable for murder.
Prosecutors say Khater and Tanios brought bear spray that wasn't intended for use toward humans to Washington, DC, then Khater grabbed it during the siege in retaliation toward police protecting the Capitol building.
He allegedly sprayed three officers in the face including Sicknick, causing them all to have to take time out from manning the police barrier outside the Capitol building. Tanios is alleged to have brought the bear spray in a backpack.
Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Capitol Police said in a statement Monday that the department "accepts the findings from the Office of the Medical Examiner, but this does not change the fact Officer Brian Sicknick died in the Line of Duty, courageously defending Congress and the Capitol."
"The Department continues to mourn the loss of our beloved colleague. The attack on our officers, including Brian, was an attack on our democracy," the statement said.
The Justice Department has charged more than 100 defendants for assaulting officers during the riot -- and in many cases have used police body camera and surveillance video to show the gruesome attacks to judges. More than 80 US Capitol Police, who work for the federal government, and more than 60 Metropolitan Police, who work for the city, were assaulted, the DOJ said last week.
In videos shown in court previously, Sicknick and other officers whom Khater sprayed can be seen lurching away as they are hit in the face. Sicknick can be seen walking by himself, stopping to put his hands on his knees on the steps of the Capitol. The clip has not been released publicly aside from being played in court once in March.
In court, lawyers involved have made clear that Khater spoke extensively to investigators already. Khater and Tanios have been in jail since their arrests more than a month ago.
Determining what happened to Sicknick on January 6 has been a focus of the Capitol riot investigation for months.
Initially, the Capitol Police said in a statement he died "due to injuries sustained while on-duty," and prosecutors were pursuing a murder investigation.
Government leaders, including from the White House and the acting House Sergeant at Arms, acknowledged he died in the line of duty, and then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said Sicknick "succumbed" to injuries "he suffered defending the U.S. Capitol."
"The FBI and Metropolitan Police Department will jointly investigate the case and the Department of Justice will spare no resources in investigating and holding accountable those responsible," Rosen said in the days after the attack.
But by February, the investigation had stalled because of lack of evidence of any fatal injury, CNN previously reported.
By that time, medical examiners had not found signs of blunt force trauma -- dispelling reports that Sicknick had been struck by a fire extinguisher -- and were still looking at the possibility of a preexisting medical condition or whether he became ill after being hit with the bear spray.
In February, President Joe Biden paid his respects to Sicknick as his remains were lying in honor in the US Capitol Rotunda.Sicknick's family released a statement at the time thanking "congressional leadership for bestowing this historic honor on our fallen American hero."
"We also wish to express our appreciation to the millions of people who have offered their support and sympathies during this difficult time. Knowing our personal tragedy and loss is shared by our nation brings hope for healing," the statement said.
This story has been updated with additional information Monday.