The ten music videos, shown by the Justice Department at a hearing this week, have become public records and are the key to a major criminal case against two men accused of assaulting the police, lawyers for the media companies wrote to the court.
The clips are also the most graphic representations seen publicly so far of Sicknick’s attack and reaction to him.
“Undoubtedly, the public has a keen interest in closely observing the administration of government justice in cases against people accused of committing violent crimes during the January 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol,” wrote the media companies to Washington, DC, federal district court in a new lawsuit. “Courts can better reinforce public confidence in the sanctity of our political institutions, in the security of the policemen who protect them and in the fair administration of justice, ensuring public access to these unprecedented procedures.”
Reporters from various media outlets and members of the public watched the videos on Monday in a live broadcast from the court in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
But federal rules have banned the hearing from being recorded or broadcast live, and the Justice Department and the courts have yet to make the videos available. When CNN requested access to federal prosecutors and the West Virginia court this week, they referred to their colleagues in Washington, DC. The media that went to court to gain access also includes CBS, ABC, NBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, ProPublica, National Public Radio, BuzzFeed, Gannett and broadcasters Tegna and Grupo Gray Media .
At the hearing on Monday, prosecutor Sarah Wagner showed the clips one after the other, narrating the attack and the police’s physical reactions to him.
The footage of the police body shown in court allegedly captures defendant Julian Khater by throwing a can of bear spray in the face of three policemen a few feet away, and the officers retreat.
“The policemen, all three, immediately backed out of the queue, putting their hands on their faces and running to find water to rinse their eyes,” said Wagner, the prosecutor, in court while playing the footage.
Two more clips captured Sicknick walking alone on the Capitol steps, then kneeling in pain after the attack, according to Wagner.
“Even 10 minutes after the incident, Officer Sicknick appears to be trying to get rid of the effects of pepper spray. He’s rubbing and rinsing his eyes with more water and stopping sometimes while crouching with his hands on his knees,” the prosecutor said. on court.
Two men, Khater and George Tanios, are charged with 10 federal criminal charges related to their involvement in the riot and for assaulting the police, including Sicknick, with bear spray. The Justice Department did not relate to Sicknick’s death the day after the bear spray riot.
The judge, Michael Aloi, reacted strongly to the videos shown in court, especially of police officers suffering from the chemicals in their eyes.
“Seeing only that spray of spray entering your eyes. And then the police officer just with her head rubbing her eyes, turning around. What did she do that day, besides showing up to do her job, looking at thousands of angry people? “Aloi said. “And then the officer who is no longer with us is almost surreal, kind of walking in solitude rubbing his eyes on the Capitol steps.”
“It is difficult for me not to see this as anything other than an attack on our nation’s home and everything that is important to us as a people,” added the judge.