WASHINGTON (AP) – Capitol policeman Brian Sicknick, who died at the hands of the crowd that besieged the US Capitol on January 6, will pay tribute next week at the building’s Rotunda, Congressional leaders said on Friday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement saying: “The heroism of Officer Sicknick and the Capitol Police Force during the violent uprising against our Capitol helped save lives, defend the temple of our democracy and to ensure that Congress was not diverted from our duty to the Constitution. His sacrifice reminds us every day of our obligation to our country and to the people we serve. “
Congress will hold a Sicknick arrival ceremony on Tuesday night, after which an exhibition period will be held overnight for members of the Capitol Police. Lawmakers will pay tribute on Wednesday morning, before the ceremonial departure for Arlington National Cemetery, where Sicknick will be buried.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, ceremonies will be open to guests only.
Sicknick, 42, of South River, New Jersey, enlisted in the National Guard six months after graduating from high school in 1997, going to Saudi Arabia and then to Kyrgyzstan. He joined the US Capitol Police in 2008.
During the siege of the Capitol, while protesters fervent about President Donald Trump’s electoral defeat invaded the building, Sicknick was hit in the head by a fire extinguisher. He died the next day.
In their joint statement, Pelosi and Schumer said: “On behalf of the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is our great privilege to pay tribute to Officer Sicknick with this lie ceremony in honor. May this ceremony and the knowledge that so many mourn and pray for them be a comfort to Officer Sicknick’s family during this sad time. “