- President Donald Trump did not order the flags to be flown at half-mast over the White House and federal government buildings in honor of Brian D. Sicknick, the Capitol police officer killed in riots by Trump supporters.
- The president also did not contact Sicknick’s family to offer his condolences, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence told The New York Times.
- Sicknick was hit in the head by a fire extinguisher after Trump urged his supporters to attack the Capitol on Wednesday.
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President Donald Trump did not order the flags to be flown at half-mast over federal government buildings in honor of Brian D. Sicknick, the police officer killed in the attack on the Capitol on Wednesday.
An aide to Vice President Mike Pence told The New York Times that while Pence contacted Sicknick’s family to offer his condolences, Trump did not contact them.
Flags over the United States Capitol were raised at half-mast in honor of Sicknick on Saturday, while the White House did not lower its flag.
—Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 9, 2021
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why the flags in the executive mansion were not lowered.
Trump made his law enforcement support one of the cornerstones of his reelection campaign last year.
Capitol Police announced Sicknick’s death on Thursday, who in a statement said he “was injured while physically engaging protesters” while they crowded the US Capitol.
“He went back to his division’s office and passed out. He was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries,” police said.
Law sources told the media, including the Associated Press, that Sicknick was killed by brain injuries after being hit on the head by a fire extinguisher by a rioter.
—Bill Bratton (@CommissBratton) January 8, 2021
Before the riot, Trump addressed the protesters, who met to support his baseless allegations that the election was stolen from him as a result of mass fraud.
The president said they would have to “fight much harder” and urged them to march on the Capitol, where lawmakers were certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
In the resulting violence on Capitol Hill, a Trump supporter, Ashli Babbit, was shot dead by a police officer and three people died in medical emergencies.
On Thursday, policemen and policemen from various agencies lined the streets of Washington DC to honor Sicknick, just the fourth Capitol Police officer in his history to die in the line of duty. Lawmakers, including the Senate majority, Mitch McConnell, paid tribute to Sicknick.
Many of the protesters on Wednesday directed their fury at Pence, who refused to comply with Trump’s demands and found a way to block certification of Biden’s victory.