Two men have been arrested and charged with assaulting U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a report from the Washington Post. Sicknick, 42, died the day after the Capitol riot, but the cause of his death has yet to be determined.
George Pierre Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, West Virginia, and Julian Elie Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania were arrested Sunday. They are expected to appear in federal court on Monday.
Court documents reviewed by CNN describe Tanios and Khater as “working together to assault law enforcement officers with an unknown chemical substance by spraying officers directly in the face and eyes.”
Khater was allegedly seen on video speaking to Tanios, saying, “Give me that bear s - - - ,” around 2:14 p.m. on the day in question.
Body-cam footage from 2:23 p.m. showed Khater close to Sicknick and two other officers: C. Edwards from the U.S. Capitol Police and D. Chapman from the Metropolitan Police Department. Khater was described as having “his right arm up high in the air, appearing to be holding a canister in his right hand and aiming it in the officers’ direction while moving his right arm from side to side.”
“Sicknick, Edwards and Chapman, who are standing within a few feet of Khater, all react, one by one, to something striking them in the face. The officers immediately retreat from the line, bring their hands to their faces and rush to find water to wash out their eyes,” the FBI wrote.
Tanios and Khater face nine counts including civil disorder, aiding and abetting, and three counts of assaulting a federal officer with a “dangerous weapon.”
Charges have not been filed in connection with Sicknick’s death. Though early reports suggested that he died owing to being hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, law-enforcement officials have yet to officially declare a cause of death for the officer.
On February 2, Sicknick became the third U.S. Capitol Police officer to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. Officers John Gibson and Jacob Chestnut, who were killed by an armed intruder in 1998, were the first private citizens to receive the tribute.
