Brian Sicknick: Two accused of assaulting policeman in January 6 riot
Julian Elie Khater and George Pierre Tanios were arrested for assaulting Capitol Policeman Sicknick, but were not charged with his death.
team video, USA TODAY
A West Virginia man accused of assaulting Capitol policeman Brian Sicknick, who died after the January 6 rebellion, was sentenced to prison pending trial after a contentious hearing in which prosecutors presented video clips showing the policeman and two other colleagues being soaked with chemical spray and struggling to recover.
Describing the video as “surreal”, American magistrate Michael Aloi said he was “very pleased with the government’s evidence” against George Pierre Tanios, a 39-year-old restaurant owner in Morgantown.
Tanios, who is accused of Julian Elie Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania, could face decades in prison if convicted on 10 criminal charges, including conspiring with Khater to attack police with chemical repellent during the deadly siege. None of the suspects are charged with Sicknick’s death.
“We created a culture radicalized by hatred,” said Aloi. “There were no songs or joy and peace (on January 6) – nothing but hatred and anger … I understand that this is a unique event, but there are people serving life sentences for a unique event.”
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Attorney Elizabeth Gross, representing Tanios, classified the 10 government video clips as “limited small fragments” offered to support a “story” and suggested that there was no evidence that Tanios intended the police to be the target.
“There is no doubt that there is an alleged serious offense,” Gross told the judge. “But you are listening to their plot. Are you serious? Yes. But what do we know? Not much.”
Bear spray or pepper spray?
At one point, Sicknick, wearing a blue uniform jacket, is shown moving away from the chaotic police line, removing his helmet and rubbing his face and eyes in an apparent attempt to clear his vision.
Tanios’ co-defendant, Khater, is seen on video unloading spray from a white can with a black lid on the face of Sicknick and other policemen, the video shows.
“Give me that bear (expletive),” Khater supposedly told Tanios before getting the spray cans from Tanios’ backpack.
Prosecutors said Tanios allegedly bought the chemical repellent at a store in West Virginia the day before the attack. In testimony on Monday, Riley Palmertree, the FBI special agent who led the investigation into the Tanios and Khater case, said it was not yet clear whether Khater used highly toxic bear spray against police officers or pepper spray.
Among the items Tanios allegedly bought the day before the attack were two cans of spray for bears from the Frontierman and two cans of pepper spray.
Khater is seen in the video holding a bowl and waving it from side to side, about five feet away from three policemen, including Sicknick. The videos showed each of the officers backing up after contact with the spray, while colleagues ran to their helper with water while guiding the temporarily blinded officers to safety.
‘I don’t raise bad children’
In an attempt to secure Tanios’ release while awaiting trial, defense lawyers summoned five witnesses, including the suspect’s mother, who offered an emotional defense of her son.
“I raised my children with the church,” said Maguy Tanios, offering testimony through a video conference. “My son is not bad. I will be honest with you, I do not raise bad children.”
Later, in tears, the mother, a Lebanese immigrant, rejected the prosecutors’ suggestion that, if released before the trial, Tanios could flee to Lebanon, where there are family connections.
“What are you talking about,” she said. “This is my country – the United States.”
The massive investigation may include accusations of sedition
US Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman described the siege of the Capitol and the officers’ attack as “an attack on our democracy”.
“Those who perpetrated these heinous crimes must be held responsible and – let me be clear, these illegal actions are not and will not be tolerated by this Department,” said Pittman.
More than 400 suspects have been charged so far in one of the most far-reaching investigations in the history of the United States. Michael Sherwin, the former federal prosecutor who oversaw the investigation, said on Sunday in an interview with 60 Minutes that the evidence collected so far supports possible sedition charges.
Asked whether investigators are examining President Donald Trump’s possible role in inciting the rebellion, Sherwin said: “Everything is being scrutinized.”