Newly released footage from Fox News host Tucker Carlson appears to show U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick walking in the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach, which Carlson said is evidence that top lawmakers lied about his death to claim a “deadly insurrection” occurred that day.
The new footage released by Fox News on Monday evening shows Sicknick walking through the building and motioning to protesters. Carlson stated that the footage of him walking disputes allegations in anonymously sourced reports and by top members of Congress that he was killed by rioters outside.
At one point in the clip, Sicknick is seen gesturing to protesters to move out of the building. He does not appear impaired in any way, although the clip is only a few seconds long.
“Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol. This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie the Democrats have told us about January 6,” Carlson said, whose team reported that electronic tags indicate that the House January 6 subcommittee had examined the same footage of Sicknick but never brought it up in its final report or during several televised hearings.
Starting with a New York Times report published in early 2021, claims that Sicknick was bludgeoned to death by Jan. 6 rioters were circulated by top Democratic lawmakers and members of the Biden administration. They cited his death in claiming that the Capitol breach was a “deadly insurrection.”
An autopsy report released by the Washington, D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office shows that Sicknick died of a stroke the day after Jan. 6, ruling that it was caused by “natural causes.” The U.S. Capitol Police released a statement soon after, saying the officer “died in the line of duty” and was “courageously defending Congress and the Capitol.”
Authorities said that Sicknick was attacked with pepper spray by rioters, although the D.C. Medical Examiner’s office said that he did not suffer an allergic reaction from the spray. The report, released in April 2021, said the officer suffered two strokes and died on Jan. 7, 2021.
The examiner’s office also told The Washington Post at the time that it found no evidence of internal or external injuries. “All that transpired played a role in his condition,” the examiner said.
Family Responds
After Carlson aired the footage, Sicknick’s family released a rambling statement to news outlets and claimed Carlson is trying to “rip our wounds wide open again.” It added, “Every time the pain of that day seems to have ebbed a bit, organizations like Fox rip our wounds wide open again and we are frankly sick of it. Leave us the hell alone.”Later in their statement, Sicknick’s family claimed that the video shows the officer is trying to “shake off the chemical irritants and resume his duties.” The statement did not address assertions that his death was not caused by the incidents at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Defense attorney Chad Seigel said earlier this year the medical examiner’s autopsy confirmed that Khater didn’t directly or indirectly cause the officer’s death. “If there was any evidence to the contrary, they would have charged him,” Seigel said.
The four people who died at or near the U.S. Capitol that day were all supporters of former President Donald Trump: Ashli Babbitt, Rosanne Boyland, Kevin Greeson, and Benjamin Phillips.
