Family of officer who died after Jan. 6 Capitol attack sues Donald Trump for wrongful death
The estate of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick is suing former President Donald Trump for wrongful death after he died from numerous strokes in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 siege of the U.S. Capitol.
Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of President Biden’s election, leading to several deaths. Sicknick, who was in the building, was injured in the riot, suffered strokes and died the following day.
“As Officer Sicknick and hundreds of others — including other police officers, elected officials, and rank-and-file workers at the Capitol — were put in mortal danger, and as the seat of American Democracy was desecrated by the insurgent mob, Defendant Trump watched the events unfold on live television from the safety of the White House,” attorneys for Sicknick’s estate and his partner Sandra Garza stated in their complaint, according to CNN.
“The horrific events of January 6, 2021, including Officer Sicknick’s tragic, wrongful death, were a direct and foreseeable consequence of the Defendants’ unlawful actions.”
The District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined in April 2021 that Sicknick died of natural causes. Julian Elie Khater, 32, of State College, Penn., and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, W.V., were arrested for assaulting Sicknick the month prior. They’re also named in the new suit.
The estate is seeking monetary damages of $10 million and more.
Sicknick will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal on Friday — the nation’s second-highest civilian honor — along with 11 others who “demonstrated courage and selflessness” during the insurrection at the Capitol building.
In December, Sicknick’s family snubbed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during a ceremony where they were presented with the Congressional Gold Medal for Sicknick’s actions during the Capitol attack.
The Sicknick estate’s lawsuit comes less than a month after the House Jan. 6 committee said it would make criminal referrals to the Justice Department based on their findings.
