What Happened to Brian Sicknick? The Officer Died Defending Capitol From Rioters

As more and more reports of the Capitol Building riot come to light, more horrifying facts become apparent. Like the fact that some rioters came inside the building armed with tear gas and zip ties, or that some officers were abandoned by their superiors and left to deal with the individuals storming the building alone.

Four rioters died during the incident, along with one officer: Brian Sicknick. And Brian's family's aching to know what happened to the man that led to his death.

ProPublica has reported that Brian Sicknick died on Jan. 7 from injuries he sustained in his efforts to protect the Capitol Building from incoming rioters, who were looking to impede the certification of Joe Biden's presidency.

The Sicknick family began to worry about Brian when they heard about the violence at the Capitol. They traveled from their New Jersey home to a Washington, D.C., hospital to see him.

Brian had texted them to say that he had been pepper sprayed but was otherwise OK, but that was all of the information they had. Some news reports stated an officer was in critical condition after he was bludgeoned by rioters with a fire extinguisher. The last the Sicknick family had heard of Brian was that he was in the ICU on a ventilator.

Brian's brother Ken told ProPublica: "He texted me last night and said, ‘I got pepper-sprayed twice,’ and he was in good shape. Apparently he collapsed in the Capitol and they resuscitated him using CPR."

But the day following that text, the family received news from the hospital that Brian was suffering from a blood clot and he had a stroke. The only thing keeping him alive was a ventilator.

"We weren't expecting it," Ken said.

What's most frustrating for the family is the fact that they haven't received any further news regarding the circumstances surrounding Brian's death. In fact, they learned about the worsening of Brian's condition from a reporter's phone calls.

Ken, in continued correspondence with the media outlet, said, "We have not gotten any calls. We’re kind of overwhelmed right now. You guys are getting reports of his death before I even got anything."

Sadly, Sicknick's family didn't make it to the hospital in time; he was pronounced dead at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Now they're waiting to hear the full report as to what exactly contributed to the man's death. And while they are heartbroken over Brian's death and said they believe that the current U.S. "political climate got [him] killed" ... they also don't want media outlets politicizing his death.

"Please honor Brian’s life and service and respect our privacy while we move forward in doing the same," his family said in a statement. "Brian is a hero and that is what we would like people to remember."

One family member of Brian's who wished to remain anonymous stated that the 42-year-old had admitted the job could be frustrating at times. "Occasionally he would mention that they were very understaffed and they worked a lot of hours. And morale could be low," they said.

Larry Schaefer, a 34-year veteran of the force stated that the riots on the Capitol Building were "unfathomable."

"We handle demonstrations on a regular basis. We’re prepared for this kind of stuff. We hold people back in a perimeter. We’re set up for mass arrests, to load buses of people away."

Scary footage from the riots depict mobs of Trump supporters attempting to storm the Capitol Building in a war of attrition against riot officers who stood their ground, not allowing the mob into the building. During the conflict, one officer was trapped in a door and being crushed. Thankfully, members of the mob relented and gave him space to get out of the door so he could breathe.

When asked if he was all right, the officer said that he was "OK." However, the officer has yet to be identified and there has not been any follow-ups regarding his condition.

Some folks thought that Sicknick may have been the same man in the now-viral video, but they are clearly different individuals.