Trump Named Defendant In Capitol Officer’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit From Jan. 6 Riot

The partner of a Capitol police officer whose death has been partly attributed to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Thursday against former President Donald Trump.

Officer Brian Sicknick died from multiple strokes on January 7, 2021, at the age of 42. While doctors say his death was not directly caused by the previous day’s events, they believe that the riots most likely “played a role in the medical condition.”

“The violence that followed, and the injuries that violence caused, including the injuries sustained by Officer Sicknick and his eventual death, were reasonable and foreseeable consequences of Defendant Trump’s words and conduct,” the lawsuit, brought by Sicknick’s longtime partner Sandra Garza, reads.

Along with Trump, two rioters Julian Khater and George Tanios were also named as defendants. Khater sprayed bear spray, which belonged to Tanios, in Sicknick’s face.

Rioters stormed the Capitol following Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, in which he urged his supporters to “Fight like hell.” When they breached the Capitol, the joint session of Congress that was commencing to certify President Joe Biden‘s 2020 election victory went into hiding to escape the violence.

Trump and his allies had also tried that day to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to reject certain electors to keep Trump in the White House, but he refused.

“Trump was aware that his actions prior to and on January 6, 2021, promoted and encouraged the mob to violently storm the U.S. Capitol,” the lawsuit continued. “Officer Sicknick’s death was a reasonable and foreseeable consequence of Defendants’ intentional words and actions.”

Trump’s attorneys have not yet commented on the suit.