Two men have been arrested for assaulting Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after responding to the riots on January 6, the Ministry of Justice announced Monday. The details surrounding Sicknick’s death remain unclear.
Julian Elie Khater, 32, of State College, Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, West Virginia, are charged with spraying police officers with a chemical spray. They are facing nine charges, including an assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Prosecutors said a surveillance video showed Kater and Tanios teaming up to attack law enforcement with the chemical spray and to knock down the bicycle rack barriers that guarded the Capitol.
They also watched an open-source video of the attacks that they said Khater was approaching Tanios and said, “Give me that bear s ***,” and “They just fucked me.” Khater is then shown with a white can that appears to be chemical spray. They later said that Khater had sprayed the chemical at three agents.
“The officers immediately withdraw from the queue, bring their hands to their faces, and rush to find water to rinse their eyes,” the affidavit said. Prosecutors said the officers were temporarily blinded and needed medical attention.
Sicknick reported being sprayed with a substance containing chilies. The other two officers described the spray as a “substance as strong as, if not stronger than any version of pepper spray they were exposed to during their training as law enforcement officers.”
Later that night, Capitol Police said Sicknick, 42, returned to his divisional office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he died. His cause of death has yet to be determined.
His brother, Ken Sicknick, said Brian wanted to be a police officer all his life. “Brian is a hero and that’s what we want people to remember,” Ken said in a January statement.
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Prosecutors said a tipster flagged Khater’s LinkedIn page to the detectives, who then contacted his former colleague from State College, Pennsylvania. After reviewing old working papers, the ex-colleague confirmed that Khater was his last name.
Meanwhile, researchers received two tips, including photos of Tanios during the Capitol riot. Prosecutors said Tanios was wearing clothes with “Sandwich University” in his profile photo and other photos from Jan. 6. The tipster said Tanios owns Sandwich University, a fast-food restaurant in Morgantown.
Both men appeared in court on Monday. Prosecutors are calling for detention so that the men remain behind bars for the time being. Tanios has a bail hearing on Thursday.
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 300 people and arrested more than 280 in connection with the January 6 riot at the Capitol. Officials called it “the most complex research once prosecuted by the Justice Department. “