Officer who died after storming of U.S. Capitol lies in honor
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[February 04, 2021]
By Makini Brice
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers, the
Washington mayor and police officers filed beneath the soaring U.S.
Capitol dome on Wednesday to pay tribute to Brian Sicknick, the Capitol
Police officer who died from injuries sustained during the Jan. 6
storming of the seat of government.
Lying in honor is one of the highest tributes Congress can bestow on a
civilian. Sicknick, 42, was only the fifth person and the third Capitol
Police officer to receive the honor.
He was among the officers who fought to defend the Capitol when hundreds
of supporters of former President Donald Trump raided the building in a
bid to stop Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's election.
"That Brian and his family were made to pay such a high price for his
devoted service in the Capitol was a senseless tragedy, one that we are
still grappling with," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at the
congressional tribute for Sicknick. Schumer noted that two other police
officers also died in the weeks after Sicknick's death.
After the remarks by Schumer, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, the two congressional chaplains and an a cappella rendition of
"America the Beautiful," dozens of people streamed in to view a wooden
box containing Sicknick's ashes, displayed beside an American flag.
Black draping hung in the Rotunda, a stately room with paintings,
statues and busts commemorating important figures and events in U.S.
history. Masked Capitol Police officers and other people sat in chairs
set 6 feet (1.83 m) apart as a precaution amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Wen-Ling Chestnut, widow of late U.S. Capitol Police officer J. J.
Chestnut, mourns during a ceremony for Capitol Police officer Brian
D. Sicknick, as he lies in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol,
in Washington, DC, U.S, February 3, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/Pool via
REUTERS
After lying in honor, Sicknick's ashes were transported to Arlington
National Cemetery, his final resting place.
The Jan. 6 riot left scars on the U.S. Capitol, which has been
patrolled by thousands of National Guard troops and surrounded by
high, barbed-wire-topped fencing since the incident.
The assault on the building also directly led to the second
impeachment of Trump, who spoke at a rally before the raid and urged
supporters to go to the Capitol and "fight." His impeachment trial
in the Senate is scheduled to start next week.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the Capitol to pay their
respects to Sicknick late on Tuesday. Vice President Kamala Harris
and second gentleman Doug Emhoff also came.
(Reporting by Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Patricia
Zengerle and Matthew Lewis)
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