A disturbing video from the pro-Trump Capitol riots shows a police officer being attacked and viciously beaten on the ground by a mob of rioters attempting to break into the U.S. Capitol building. The officer is even attacked at one point with an American flag. You can watch the video later in this story, but be forewarned it is disturbing and graphic.
On social media, people who shared the video on YouTube and Twitter claim that it shows the beating of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who later died. Although the details in the video generally match the account of the officer’s father – who says he was beaten and engulfed in pepper spray – it’s now been confirmed that the officer was not Sicknick. Other Twitter sleuths believe they’ve identified a badge number that indicates the beaten officer is with the DC Metro police. They were right about his agency.
An Arkansas man named Peter Stager now stands accused by authorities of being the man beating the officer with a flagpole. He says he thought the officer was Antifa, the complaint says.
Heavy has contacted the police union chairman, DC Metro police public affairs, and the public affairs office of Capitol Police in an attempt to confirm that information. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help Officer Sicknick’s family.
Here is the video. It’s age-restricted, so you have to click through to YouTube to watch it there.
Closer photos confirm that a Capitol Police officer is being horrifically beaten by the mob in the video. The beating occurs in a middle of a mob of people, some of whom are wearing Trump regalia and carrying Trump flags and signs that say things like “Stop the Steal.” Some wield crutches at the fallen officer.
Here’s the photo I was show, apparently of the late Officer Sicknick. 3 people I’d love to ID:
1) CAT Sweatshirt (did he use that crutch as a weapon?)
2) Orange Sweatshirt (with helmet and baton)
3) Scalloped Backpack
Photos from Getty Images captured the scene and may help identify the people in the mob.
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Although no one has been publicly identified in the murder of Sicknick or the brutal beating captured in these videos and photos, charges are starting to come down against other Capitol rioters. They include a QAnon follower accused of wanting to put a bullet in Nancy Pelosi’s head; another man accused of hitting a different police officer with a lacrosse stick who said he carried a knife because he was scared of antifa; and an Alabama man called a “big Trump supporter” by his ex-wife accused of possessing Molotov cocktails. Those are just some of the charges to result so far. Another known QAnon supporter, who wore a hat with horns, was accused of violent entry and other charges. The FBI says there is no indication that antifa was involved in the Capitol riots, contrary to conspiracy theories.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Video Shows the Mob of People Attacking a Capitol Police Officer Who Is Lying on the Ground
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It appears from the video that the Capitol Police officer is lying in the door while people pummel and beat him with various objects. Other people stand by watching and do not come to his aid; some are filming the scene with cell phone cameras.
A man who is not in a police officer’s uniform stands nearby wearing a helmet that says U.S. Capitol Police, raising speculation that the officer’s helmet may have been removed.
Some people noted that children appeared to be in the mob.
Who is the woman in the pink hat? And the guy next to her with the Capitol police helmet? They were breaking the windows with that pipe. Also, children right there? This is a call for Child Protective Services. MADNESS.
The people in the video have not yet been publicly identified. At one point, someone tosses a “Stop the Steal” sign in the direction of the officer. Others hit him with sticks or batons and even a Trump flag. A woman in a pink hat and another man use a large pole to try to smash the windows of the Capitol building.
The video of the officer being beaten was taken by Christopher Chern and originally posted to Storyful. “Scenes of Mayhem: Pro-Trump Protesters Throw Crutches, Sing ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ as They Swarm US Capitol,” it’s titled.
The Storyful caption reads:
Violent clashes broke out at the US Capitol on January 6 when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building as Congress was set to vote to affirm Joe Biden’s Electoral College win. The Trump loyalists, who had been urged to march toward the building by the president, scaled scaffolding and smashed windows before breaching the Capitol, despite police resistance. At least four people died during the events, including protester Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by a US Capitol Police officer as she tried to break into a secured area of the building. Three others, named by DC Police as Rosanne Boyland, Kevin Greeson, and Benjamin Phillips, died in what were described as “medical emergencies.” This footage, shot by Christopher Chern, shows Trump supporters ramming Capitol windows and clashing with police as law enforcement attempted to prevent them from entering.
OK, new project: Let’s find the people who beat the policeman to death. Someone sent me a photo of the scene but my notifications are getting flooded. Can anyone who has photos or video of that scene post them in the replies here?
Some on Twitter are trying to identify those in the video.
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How Did Officer Sicknick Die?
Metro PoliceU.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick.
According to the Capitol Police statement, Sicknick was responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol while on duty and was injured during a physical altercation with members of the mob of Donald Trump supporters who stormed the building. “He returned to his division office and collapsed,” the department said. “He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”
The department wrote, specifically, that he “was injured while physically engaging with protesters.”
Some details have emerged about Sicknick’s death, and they do generally match what is seen in the video. Sicknick was a Trump-supporting military veteran who was part of a First Responders Unit for Capitol Police.
Reuters interviewed Sicknick’s father, who gave more details of what happened to his son. “As rioters overpowered Capitol police, Sicknick was pepper-sprayed and hit in the head, his father said. Ambulance crews resuscitated him twice as he was rushed to a nearby Washington hospital. Sicknick died the next day,” Reuters reported.
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“He ended up with a clot on the brain,” his father told Reuters. “If they had operated on him, he would’ve become a vegetable.”
Nexstar Media Group reporter Alexandra Limon reported that Sicknick was struck in the head by a rioter. Other news accounts said he was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher.
According to the Capitol Police, Sicknick’s death will be investigated by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, the U.S. Capitol Police and their federal partners.
The procession for U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick @ABC7News
“If any good comes out of my son’s death, I just hope that it stops all the lunacy that’s been going on in this country,” his father said to Reuters.
READ NEXT: The Life & Death of Brian Sicknick