Two Men Awaiting Sentencing Over Jan. 6 Attack

Facts

• Two men were scheduled to be sentenced Friday for their roles in the pepper-spraying of a US Capitol police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. Prosecutors claim the pepper-spray assault contributed to the death of officer Brian Sicknick, who died the next day.
• Julian Khater, who deployed the pepper spray against Sicknick, could face up to 7.5 years in prison; last year he pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting police. George Tanios also faces sentencing after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct on restricted grounds.
• Sicknick died of a stroke on Jan. 7, 2021. Francisco J. Diaz, the medical examiner, attributed Sicknick’s death to natural causes but tied “all that transpired” on Jan. 6 to the officer’s death.
• Sicknick’s family is blaming his death primarily on Khater. The Sicknick family wrote a series of letters urging the court to issue the harshest sentence possible.
• Prosecutors said Tanios drove from his West Virginia home to pick up Khater in New Jersey before going to Washington, DC on Jan. 6. The men possessed two canisters of bear spray, which they did not utilize, and two canisters of pepper spray.
• While Khater and Tanios await sentencing from US District Judge Thomas Hogan, they’re among more than 950 people who have been charged for their connection to the riots.

Sources: Reuters, Us, Timesofindia, Politico, Reuters and Reuters.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Wusa9. The foot soldiers of former Pres. Trump conducted a horrific attack on the Capitol, and Khater specifically caused Sicknick’s death. Khater is a violent man who should face the harshest consequences for his actions. He and his co-conspirator must pay for their crimes.
• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by FOX News. The federal government is using lies about what happened on Jan. 6 to punish dissenters. Only one person is documented to have died that day itself — unarmed Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt. The feds and their media allies have found a cornucopia of issues to blame on the protesters.