Brian Sicknick

Sicknick's basic training photo in 1997

Sicknick was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey to Gladys and Charles Sicknick. He grew up in South River, New Jersey as the youngest of three sons.[2] He attended the Calico Cat Preschool of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in South River from 1981 to 1983.[3] Sicknick attended East Brunswick Technical High School to study electronics, but later aspired to become a police officer.[4] He graduated from the high school in 1997.[5]

After struggling to find a job as a police officer, Sicknick joined the New Jersey Air National Guard in 1997 "as a means to that end".[4] He served on the 108th Wing at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, as a fire team member and leader with the security force squadron.[6] In 1998, he wrote a letter to Home News Tribune, his local newspaper, expressing his skepticism towards America's soft stance against Saddam Hussein.[3]

He was deployed to Saudi Arabia to support Operation Southern Watch in 1999, and to Kyrgyzstan to support Operation Enduring Freedom in 2003.[6] Sicknick later criticized U.S. motivations for the War in Afghanistan and the government's strategy in the Iraq War. In 2003, he wrote again to Home News Tribune, noting a decline in morale among troops.[3] He was honorably discharged in the same year as a staff sergeant.[6]

Sicknick also worked as a school custodian in Cranbury, New Jersey.[3] He later moved to Springfield, Virginia[7] and joined the United States Capitol Police in July 2008.[8] One of his first assignments occurred during the first inauguration of Barack Obama.[4] On December 31, 2013, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree from the University of Phoenix.[2] Sicknick was an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but was remembered for comforting Caroline Behringer, a staffer for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as she returned to work at the Capitol following Trump's victory.[3]

Flag at the US Capitol at half-staff on January 12 in honor of Sicknick

During the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, Sicknick was a member of the police department's first responder unit.[4] The day after the storming, Capitol police stated he had been injured while physically engaging with protesters. Two anonymous officials said Sicknick had been struck by a fire extinguisher.[9] This was later proven to be false, as video evidence shows no such attack, and the medical examiner found no blunt force trauma.[1]

He initially texted his brother later that night, reporting that he had been twice attacked with pepper spray and was "in good shape". He later collapsed at the Capitol, and was resuscitated by CPR. By the following day, he had experienced a stroke and had a blood-clot, and was surviving on a ventilator. Premature reports of his death spread among law enforcement circles, which led to confusion among journalists and Sicknick's family until Capitol police denied the rumors an hour later. Capitol police later reported that Sicknick had died around 9:30 pm on January 7. Family members had not yet arrived at the hospital when he died.[4]

On January 8, Pelosi ordered flags at the Capitol to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Sicknick.[10] Vice President Mike Pence called Sicknick's family to offer his condolences, and a deputy press secretary for the Trump administration issued a written statement.[11] In the following weekend, Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at all federal buildings, grounds, and vessels from January 10 through 13.[12] The governors of New Jersey and Virginia also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in their respective states on January 11.[13][14]

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden attend the viewing for Sicknick's remains at the Capitol.

On January 12, a memorial service was held in Sicknick's hometown of South River, New Jersey. His family, Senator Bob Menendez, and local officials were in attendance. Menendez presented to Sicknick's family the flag that had flown over the Capitol in his honor.[15] Sicknick's high school, East Brunswick Technical High School, announced plans to plant an oak tree on campus.[5]

On January 29, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Sicknick would lie in honor at the Capitol rotunda.[16] The arrival ceremony began on the evening of February 2 at the Capitol's east front, followed by a viewing period attended by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.[16] Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff paid their respects on February 3, along with several legislators and police officers.[17] Later that day, Sicknick's remains departed the Capitol for burial at Arlington National Cemetery.[18]

• Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson — Capitol police officers who were killed during the 1998 United States Capitol shooting