Two men have been arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer the day before he tragically passed away, the Washington Post reported.
39-year-old George Pierre Tanios from West Virginia and 32-year-old Julian Elie Khater from Pennsylvania reportedly assaulted US Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray during the riots on January 6.
Investigators are working to determine whether their actions contributed to the officer’s death.
Authorities are reportedly treating the case as a potential homicide.
Two people familiar with the case said that investigators initially believed that the fallen police officer was hit in the head by a fire extinguisher. However, more evidence revealed that Sicknick may have ingested a chemical substance that may have contributed to his death.
A video of the incident showed the suspects standing near Sicknick and other Capitol police officers during the insurrection.
“Give me that bear s***,” Khater could be heard telling the other suspect, according to prosecutors.
Nine minutes later, he was allegedly seen discharging chemicals – possibly bear spray – into Sicknick and other police officers’ faces.
Tanios and Khater are each facing nine charges, including obstruction of a Congressional proceeding, civil disorder, and assaulting police officers with a deadly weapon.
Court documents also said that the two suspects were arrested after tipsters called the FBI.
Sicknick tragically died on January 7 only hours after he tried to stop rioters from storming the US Capitol.
Capitol Police said the 42-year-old “was injured while physically engaging with protesters” and later collapsed when he returned to his office.
The officer’s mother, 74-year-old Gladys Sicknick, told Daily Mail last month: “He wasn’t hit on the head no. We think he had a stroke, but we don’t know anything for sure.”
Gladys said that their family has been left in the dark about the investigation into her son’s death.
“We’d love to know what happened,” she expressed.
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