Posted on 03/15/21
| News Source: FOX News
Two men have been charged with assaulting fallen U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick on Jan. 6 after prosecutors say video evidence shows them dousing Sicknick and other law enforcement officers with a chemical spray outside the building, according to a report Monday.
But the suspects have not been charged with homicide, and prosecutors so far have not implicated anyone directly in causing Sicknick's demise, as an official cause of death remains pending.
Julian Elie Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39 of Morgantown, West Virginia, were arrested Sunday and are expected to make a court appearance Monday, the Washington Post first reported.
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Each faces nine counts, including assault with a deadly weapon against Sicknick, a second Capitol police officer identified in court documents as "C. Edwards," and a D.C. Metropolitan Police officer identified as "B. Chapman."
Tipsters helped identify the two suspects using surveillance and body-camera images released by the FBI. According to charging documents, video shows Khater asking Tanios for a can of bear mace at 2:14 p.m. near the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol. About nine minutes later, Khater, who says he was struck with bear spray, is seen discharging a canister into the faces of Sicknick and the other officers.
The charging documents also reveal that Khater and Tanios grew up together in New Jersey, and that Khater had worked in State College, Pennsylvania, and Tanios owns a business in Morgantown, West Virginia. Read more at FOX News