The mother of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick said her son was not beaten with a fire extinguisher by a mob on Jan. 6, saying he likely suffered a stroke instead—refuting reports from the New York Times and other outlets claiming otherwise.
The NY Times, CNN, and NBC updated their reports weeks after the Jan. 6 breach to assert that Sicknick was not killed by a fire extinguisher. Originally, the NY Times reported, based on anonymous sources, that Sicknick was beaten to death.
According to the NY Times’ update in February, “New information has emerged regarding the death of the Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick that questions the initial cause of his death provided by officials close to the Capitol Police.” However, there were reports of new information emerging about the circumstances of Sicknick’s death around the same time the NY Times published its report on Jan. 8.
The allegation Sicknick was killed by a protester was cited during the House impeachment managers’ presentations and arguments that former President Donald Trump should be convicted in the Senate impeachment trial over his speech on Jan. 6. Since the Capitol breach, some pundits and elected officials have cited Sicknick’s death while pushing claims that new domestic terrorism laws are needed.
Medical examiners have not released an official report on Sicknick’s cause of death. An autopsy report also was not released.
Meanwhile, there have been no arrests related to the officer’s death, and officials have not released details about a potential suspect. And while the breach was captured via live-streaming video, there is no footage that surfaced of demonstrators hitting Sicknick with a fire extinguisher.
An official Capitol Police statement said that “officer Brian D. Sicknick passed away due to injuries sustained while on duty,” continuing to say, “Officer Sicknick was responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol and was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the U.S. Capitol Police for comment.