JUSTICE FOR SICKNICK: Partner of fallen Jan. 6 hero cop taking on Trump in court
The longtime partner of fallen January 6th hero, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Donald Trump just one day before the statute of limitations was set to expire.
Sandra Garza is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages for the wrongful death of Officer Sicknick, who suffered a heart attack after being pepper sprayed in the line of duty.
“As a direct and foreseeable consequence of Defendant Trump’s false and incendiary allegations of fraud and theft, and in direct response to Defendant Trump’s express call for violence at the rally, a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol,” the complaint states.
Read the lawsuit below.
During the violent attack, Officer Sicknick was sprayed with a chemical by MAGA insurrectionist Julian Khater – named in a following suit. The officer collapsed at the hospital later that evening and passed away the day later.
Khater was charged in connection with the attack on Sicknick – along with another MAGA insurrectionist, George Tanios.
Sicknick’s death was ruled of “natural causes” by the coroner’s office, but the D.C. Medical Examiner added that the officer’s role in protecting the United States Capitol was a contributing factor to his subsequent death.
Trump’s demeanor as the violence unfolded was described as “borderline enthusiastic,” by those close to the matter, Law & Crime reported.
Public testimony during the January 6th House Select Committees televised hearings revealed that the then-President watched the mob on television – and then refused to intervene for 187 minutes.
“As Officer Sicknick and hundreds of others – including other police officers, elected officials, and rank-and-file workers at the U.S. Capitol – were put in mortal danger,” the complaint states.
“Many participants have since revealed that they were acting on what they believed to be Defendant Trump’s direct orders in service of their country,” it continues.
Per the D.C. code, wrongful death suits have a statute of limitation of two years.
The person being sued doesn’t have to have been directly involved in the death of the victim, but “damages shall be assessed with reference to the injury resulting from the act, neglect, or default causing the death, to the spouse or domestic partner and the next of kin of the deceased person,” Sec. 27 of the code states.
The 47-page complaint includes multiple examples of Trump’s complicity in inciting the riot.
Posts from Trump’s Twitter account show a calculated and intentional effort to whip his supporters into a frenzy – and demonstrate that he was well aware of the potential danger to innocent lives.
“Individuals incited by Defendant Trump and others, including Defendants Khater and Tanios, stormed the U.S. Capitol…Before directing the mob to the U.S. Capitol, Defendant Trump instructed them to “fight like hell,” Garza writes in her suit. “‘You’re allowed to go by very different rules’ and ‘you have to show strength.’ Defendant Trump intended these words to be taken literally.”
Read the entire complaint here.
Original reporting by Adam Klasfeld at Law & Crime.
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