Two Capitol rioters charged with assaulting cop Brian Sicknick with BEAR SPRAY hours before he died
TWO Capitol rioters have been charged with assaulting police officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray before he died.
The two men – 32-year-old Julian Elie Khater of Pennsylvania and 39-year-old George Pierre Tanios of West Virginia – were reportedly arrested on Sunday.
Both men – who reportedly grew up together in New Jersey – are set to appear in federal court on Monday.
According to the Washington Post, the men were taken into custody by US authorities more than two months after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
A complaint revealed the men were charged after FBI agents were contacted by tipsters, after surveillance images were released to the public.
Despite their arrests, it is not yet known whether the bear spray led to Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s death.
Last month, a Capitol rioter seen on video using a mace or bear spray was being eyed by the FBI as a suspect in the death of Sicknick, whom investigators believe died due to an irritant.
Sicknick, 42, was injured while protecting the Capitol from entering rioters during the January 6 insurrection when he was mace or bear sprayed during the riot and died the following day.
Arrest papers, obtained by The Post, say Khater was allegedly heard on the video footage talking to Tanios at the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol at 2.14pm.
Khater allegedly uttered the phrase “give me that bear sh*t” to Tanios in the area where Sicknick was standing with other officers alongside bicycle racks.
At one point in the footage, Khater is spotted spraying something into Sicknick’s face, including two other cops, the arrest papers reportedly state.
According to the report, Khater had claimed to have been hit with bear spray during the incident.
The Post stated: “Khater and Tanios are charged with nine counts including assaulting Sicknick, a U.S. Capitol Police officer identified as C. Edwards and a D.C. police officer identified as B. Chapman with a deadly weapon.
“They are also charged with civil disorder and obstruction of a Congressional proceeding. The charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.”
It is unknown if someone will be held criminally responsible in connection with Sicknick’s death, the news outlet explained.
When Sicknick – a 12-year veteran of the force -died on January 7, Capitol Police stated he “was injured while physically engaging with protestors.”
Their statement added that he then “returned to his division office and collapsed” before succumbing to his injuries at the hospital.
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Five people, including Sicknick, died as a result of the riots at the Capitol on January 6, when former President Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s win.
Sicknick served in the military before joining the Capitol police, and was deployed twice overseas.
He was a National Guard veteran who served in Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan.