Officer Brian Sicknick is the fifth person to be honored in the US Capitol, a special term for US civilians.
US Congressmen on Wednesday paid grim respect to Brian Sicknick, the police officer who died while defending the Capitol in front of a crowd of far-right supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The cremated remains of Sicknick, who died of his injuries the day after the January 6 attack, arrived Tuesday evening to lie in the Capitol’s rotunda until Wednesday noon.
After a prayer of invocation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer began the memorial service by saying that Sicknick was a 12-year-old Capitol Police officer and “peacekeeping, not just on duty, but in spirit.”
The Democratic leader did not know Sicknck, but when he spoke to his colleagues and family, Schumer said he had met the fallen officer.
Schumer described Sicknick as “a kind and humble man with profound strength” and the “high price” that Sicknick “had to pay was a pointless tragedy”.
House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi said the US would never forget Sicknick’s sacrifices to “protect US Congress”.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi attends a ceremony for the late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who will be in the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington on February 3, 2021 [Carlos Barria/Pool via Reuters]Before the ceremony, Democratic and Republican leaders of the US Congress registered for the ceremony in the rotunda. One by one, Sicknick’s fellow Capitol officers approached the jar with the remains and saluted.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden paid their respects to Sicknick Tuesday night. Biden and his wife stood in front of the remains with their hands over their hearts to pay tribute to Sicknick.
During the January 6 riot at the Capitol, Trump supporters stormed the building and paused the election count after then-President Trump urged National Mall supporters to “fight like hell” to overcome defeat.
Trump and his allies had made rebutted claims about the election that gave Biden victory for months before the uprising. Four more died in the violence.
An explosion caused by police ammunition is seen as supporters of then-US President Donald Trump gather outside the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021 [File: Leah Millis/Reuters]The 42-year-old Sicknick was sprayed with pepper spray and hit in the head during the riot, according to his father. A rescue team resuscitated him twice when he was rushed to a nearby hospital. He died the next day.
The US Capitol Police said in a statement that Sicknick was injured “while he was physically involved with protesters,” although the ultimate cause of death is not yet known.
No charges have been brought in the case, but federal and local law enforcement agencies have brought charges against more than 130 of the rioters.
The incident led to Trump’s historic second impeachment and next week he will be tried in the Senate for incitement to riot.
Trump’s attorneys argued Tuesday that lawmakers could not legally indict a former president, and he re-fueled allegations of election fraud.
Since the 19th century, the Capitol has honored the caskets of about three dozen distinguished Americans. Twelve were former presidents who, along with other government officials, judges and military leaders, are said to be “in the state”.
The Honorary Honor category was created after two Capitol Police officers were fatally wounded in 1998 by an armed man who ran to the offices of the then majority whip, Tom DeLay.
U.S. Capitol Police officers await the remains of the late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died on Jan. 7 of the January 6 attack on the building [Tasos Katopodis/Pool via Reuters]Sicknick, who served in the New Jersey Air National Guard, joined the Capitol Police in 2008. After the ceremony, his remains will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery, the historic military burial ground located several miles from the US Capitol in Virginia.
Sicknick is the fifth American to be honored in the rotunda. The others who lied in honor were John Gibson and Jacob Chestnut Jr., the Capitol cops murdered in 1998; Civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who died in 2005; and the Reverend Billy Graham, who died in 2018.
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