Capitol Breach Victim, Brian Sicknick, May Not Have Suffered Physical Trauma, Official Suggests

Recent news suggests that the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick during the January 6th Capitol breach might not have been caused by an injury to the head, as previously rumoured. This would mean that at the time of writing, only two of the five deaths resulting from the protest are confirmed to have happened as a result of violence; one was Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by a policeman inside the Capitol building. The Capitol breach has been repeatedly labelled by influential outlets using the adjective ‘deadly’. The description, while technically accurate, is highly misleading. 

News from last week provides additional claims about the investigation into the death of Brian Sicknick, a member of the Capitol Police who died in the wake of the Capitol breach. Contrary to earlier reports, one law enforcement official has recently reported that no signs of blunt force trauma have yet been found by medical examiners. 

A public statement issued by the Capitol Police on January 8th provided only limited information - that Sicknick had “succumbed last night to the injuries he suffered defending the U.S. Capitol”. Other previous claims have alleged that the officer had suffered injuries to the head as a result of being hit or even ‘beaten’ using a fire extinguisher. This information seems to have originated from a statement of two law enforcement officials shortly after Sicknick’s death, who had spoken anonymously to the Associated Press. 

The other unnamed source disputing this claim indicated that the examiners are considering other possible causes of death, including a reaction to pepper spray. According to an interview from January 8th with Brian Sicknick’s brother Ken, Brian had texted him during the protest, saying that while he had been pepper-sprayed, he was “in good spirits”. Ken Sicknick added: “Apparently he collapsed in the Capitol and they resuscitated him using CPR.” 

The family was reportedly told the following day that Brian had suffered a blood clot and a stroke, although, according to Fox News, the elder brother could not be reached for any more information since.

Amid conflicting reports about the cause of death of Brian Sicknick, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee III reiterated on February 4th that the investigation is still underway and no definitive verdict had yet been reached by the medical examiners. Likewise, investigators are still reviewing a large volume of video evidence from the Capitol Breach to look for evidence to help determine what happened to Sicknick.

Five people have been confirmed to have died following the Capitol breach. Besides Brian Sicknick, the most high-profile case has been that of a protester named Ashli Babbit, who was shot in the neck by the police while attempting to enter the Speaker’s Lobby inside the Capitol building. As recently reported by Lotuseaters.com, her shooter is unlikely to be charged with “any crimes related to her death”.

Rosanne Boyland was “trampled by the crowd” during the protest. A friend of hers described a chaotic situation where protesters started ‘falling over one another’: “I put my arm underneath her and was pulling her out and then another guy fell on top of her, and another guy was just walking [on top of her]”. According to the New York Post, attempts to revive Boyland were unsuccessful.

Kevin Geeson reportedly died as a consequence of a heart attack he had suffered “amid the excitement”, according to his family. He was a 55-year-old who had “a history of high blood pressure”.

Benjamin Philips is reported to have a died after suffering a stroke at 50 years of age, according to a Washington police call to his family.

The investigation into Sicknick’s death was opened on January 7th, shortly after his passing. Since then, no charges of killing have been brought against any of the protesters. Multiple people have been arrested on assault charges and many more for non-violent conduct such as breaking a curfew or illegally entering the Capitol.

The protests of January 6th included a crowd of tens of thousands who had gathered in the morning to listen to Trump speak at the Ellipse and then marched towards the Capitol in the afternoon. The majority of these protesters stayed outside the Capitol building throughout the day and were not involved in the now-infamous breach of federal government property. Significant outbreaks of violence, well documented by protesters and journalists alike, have occurred at the steps of the Capitol, at one of the back entrances, and inside the building itself. Ashli Babbitt was shot while inside the Capitol. Brian Sicknick was defending a back entrance into the building (although it is not clear what happened to him there or how significant it was). The location of the remaining three individuals who died is not known, none of them have been reported or documented as having been among those who had broken into the building. It is more likely that their medical emergencies occured outside, amid the general commotion of the protesters, where intentional violence played no part.

When describing the Capitol storming as ‘deadly’, reporters are arguably engaging in subtle manipulation and misinformation. Of the five people who lost their lives, two (Geeson and Philips) died of heart problems. The cause of death of the third (Sicknick) is still being investigated, but claims have been made that his death might have not been due to any injuries. The fourth (Babbitt), was shot by a policeman inside the Capitol. It is true that if she had not been there, she would not have died. However, implicitly blaming her death on her and the protesters alone is nowhere near accurate or charitable. Only the fifth and last person (Boyland) has been confirmed to have been a genuine victim of the actions of the more violent section of the protests, as they clashed with the police. Those using the label ‘deadly’ are being factual but not truthful. While technically correct, it does not capture the nature of the Capitol breach or the broader protests accompanying it adequately.