The New York Times (NYT) has updated its original story on the cause of death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. As the country mourns the untimely death of one of America’s heroes, questions are surfacing about what exactly happened to Sicknick. The NYT originally reported that Officer Sicknick died of brain injuries after being repeatedly hit in the head with a fire extinguisher by Trump supporters during the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6.
The original NYT report read, “Mr. Sicknick, 42, an officer for the Capitol Police, died on Thursday from brain injuries he sustained after Trump loyalists who overtook the complex struck him in the head with a fire extinguisher, according to two law enforcement officials.” The paper’s correction states, “UPDATE: New information has emerged regarding the death of the Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick that questions the initial cause of his death provided by officials close to the Capitol Police.“
UPDATE: New information has emerged regarding the death of the Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick that questions the initial cause of his death provided by officials close to the Capitol Police.
New York Times
The corrected article goes on to say, “An earlier F.B.I. memo, sent to the private sector and others, had wrongly said that the bureau was investigating 37 people in the death of the officer, Brian Sicknick, but it relied on incorrect internal information; the F.B.I. official confirmed that the figure was inaccurate. It was not clear how many people the F.B.I. have identified who might have information about Mr. Sicknick’s killing.”
Officer Sicknick’s official cause of death is currently unknown. The Times’ updated report states, “Law enforcement officials initially said Mr. Sicknick was struck with a fire extinguisher, but weeks later, police sources and investigators were at odds over whether he was hit. Medical experts have said he did not die of blunt force trauma, according to one law enforcement official.”
The article concludes with a statement asserting that an investigation into the events is underway: “The inspectors general for several federal agencies, including the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, announced on Friday that they had opened an investigation into the response to the riot at the Capitol. The watchdogs will also look at how federal agencies shared intelligence ahead of the riot.”
Remarkably, this correction comes on the heels of the conclusion of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, where House Managers used the original report from the NYT in their attempt to build a case against Trump. As American Greatness noted, “House impeachment managers cited the original January 8 Times’ article as evidence in their impeachment memo: ‘The insurrectionists killed a Capitol Police officer by striking him in the head with a fire extinguisher.”
The American people look forward to a thorough and accurate investigation into the events leading up to the Capitol riots and what precisely caused Sicknick’s tragic death. Hopefully, Sicknick’s family will get some much-needed answers about what happened to him on Jan. 6.
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