The mother of a Capitol Police officer who died the day after the U.S. Capitol breach is pushing Republican senators to support the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 incident.
Brian Sicknick died of a stroke on Jan. 7, with a coroner ruling it natural causes. Initial reports that Sicknick was hit with a fire extinguisher on Jan. 6 were found to be inaccurate, and two men who were charged with spraying chemicals at several Capitol cops, including Sicknick, were notably not charged in connection with his death.
Still, Sicknick’s loved ones on Thursday linked the Jan. 6 protest and breach to the stroke he suffered a day later.
“My son, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died on January 7, 2021,” Gladys Sicknick said in a statement tweeted out by CNN’S Kristin Wilson. “He died because of the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol building on January 6. He and his fellow officers fought for hours and hours against those animals who were trying to take over the Capitol building and our democracy, we know it.
“According to some who were barricaded in their offices, it looked like tourists walking through the Capitol. Really? While they were fighting, congressmen and senators were locking themselves inside the offices. Sadly, Brian passed away and many officers were badly hurt. Not having a January 6 Commission to look into exactly what occurred is a slap in the faces of all the officers who did their jobs that day.
“Because of what they did, the people in the building were able to go home that evening and be with their families. Brian and many other officers ended up in the hospital.”
Sicknick’s mother then took direct aim at the GOP members of congress who do not support a commission, which many opposed to it say will only be used by Democrats as a cudgel in the upcoming midterm elections.
“I suggest that all congressmen and senators who are against this bill visit my son’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery and, while there, think about what their hurtful decisions will do to those officers who will be there for them going forward,” she said in the statement. “Putting politics aside, wouldn’t they want to know the truth of what happened on January 6? If not, they do not deserve to have the jobs they were elected to do.”
Politico reported Gladys Sicknick, along with Brian Sicknick’s longtime girlfriend, Sandra Garza, were at the Capitol to meet with Republican senators on Thursday.
Among the Republican senators who agreed to meet with them, according to Politico: Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah), Rob Portman (Ohio), Pat Toomey (Pa.), Susan Collins (Maine), Roger Marshall (Kansas), John Barrasso (Wyo.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Mike Lee (Utah), and Ron Johnson (Wis.).
Michael Fanone, who suffered a heart attack and concussion while responding to the Jan. 6 breach, and Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who was pepper sprayed and maced while protecting the Capitol, were set to join Sicknick and Garza in some of their Senate meetings, Politico reported.
Republican lawmakers are facing increased political pressure, including from some in the law enforcement community, to get behind the proposed commission, the outlet noted.
Though Sicknick died a day after the breach and three Trump supporters died of medical emergencies during the Jan. 6 incident, the only person killed during the breach was protester Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran who was shot by a Capitol Police officer.
Source: Newmax
