Partner of deceased Capitol Police officer sues Trump for ‘intentionally riling’ up Jan. 6 crowd

The long-term partner of late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died from a stroke a day after the January 6 Capitol riot, has filed a lawsuit against former president Trump and two other defendants who were previously charged with assaulting Sicknick that day.

The suit, filed in a US District Court in Washington, DC, on Thursday, alleges the former president played a direct role in sending the crowd to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, leading to the injuries that reportedly caused Officer Sicknick to die from a stroke days later.

Sandra Garza, the plaintiff in the lawsuit and Sicknick’s partner, also accuses Capitol attackers George Tanios and Julian Khater of physically attacking Sicknick.

The suit refers to Trump’s words to the excited crowd ahead of the attack that prompted the assault of Sicknick and other Capitol Police officers that day. 

“Before directing the mob to the U.S. Capitol, Defendant Trump instructed them to ‘fight like hell’,” the suit claims, “and declared that ‘you’re allowed to go by very different rules’ and ‘you have to show strength. Defendant Trump intended these words to be taken literally.”’

It also accuses him of “intentionally [riling] up the crowd and [directing] and [encouraging] a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol and attack those who opposed them.”

George Tanios and Julian Khater have already stood trial and pleaded guilty in federal court to assaulting law enforcement officers with pepper spray and other charges and are still awaiting sentencing.