Two men have been arrested and charged with assaulting U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick and two other law enforcement officers. The men allegedly sprayed a chemical on the officers during the January 6th attack on the Capitol, the Washington Post reported. Sicknick died after the riot but authorities have not determined his exact cause of death.
The men, Julian Elie Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of West Virginia, were arrested Sunday.
In a filing, the Justice Department says they have video evidence from the day of the attack that shows Khater asking Tanios to “give me that bear shit.” Minutes later, Khater can be seen spraying a substance into the faces of all three officers.
“The two were working in concert and had a plan to use the toxic spray against law enforcement,” the DOJ concluded in the complaint.
The complaint also says that surveillance and bodycam footage shows officers, including Sicknick, “react… to something striking them in the face” after Khater sprayed the substance in their direction and that the officers “suffered injuries” as a result. The officers were “temporarily blinded” by the spray and were “temporarily disabled from performing their duties” while they sought needed medical attention.
Both men have been charged with nine counts, including assaulting three officers with a deadly weapon, conspiring to injure officers. If convicted the men, who and are expected to appear in federal court Monday, face up to 20 years in prison.
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