Trump, 2 Rioters Sued Over Capitol Police Officer's Death

On the eve of the second anniversary of the Capitol attack, former President Donald Trump and two rioters were sued by the longtime partner of Brian Sicknick, who was doused with chemical spray during the attack and died the next day. Julie Garza's lawsuit, which is seeking at least $10 million each from Trump and the two rioters, cites the conclusions of the House panel that investigated the attack, the New York Times reports. "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 lawsuit states, per CNN.

"As Officer Sicknick and hundreds of others ... were put in mortal danger," Trump "watched the events unfold on live television from the safety of the White House," the lawsuit states. Julian Khater and George Tanios, the two rioters accused of dousing Sicknick with bear spray or pepper spray, pleaded guilty to crimes related to the attack and are due to be sentenced later this month, CNN reports. Video from the attack shows Khater spraying Sicknick and other officers with a canister he took from Tanios' backpack. Washington DC's chief medical examiner ruled that the 42-year-old, who collapsed in his office at 10pm on Jan, 6, died from natural causes, but said " all that transpired played a role in his condition."

Four other police officers died by suicide after the Capitol attack, including Jeffrey Smith, a DC Metropolitan Police Officer who was beaten with a metal pole and his own baton during the attack and took his own life nine days later. His widow won a legal fight to have his death declared a line-of-duty death. The White House says that in a ceremony Friday, President Biden will award the nation's second-highest civilian honor, the Presidential Citizens Medal, to 12 people who defended the Capitol or resisted attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. Seven members of law enforcement will be honored, including Sicknick, who will receive a posthumous award, the AP reports. (More Brian Sicknick stories.)