Former President Donald Trump, along with Julian Khater and George Tanios, two January 6 protesters, won a "half-hearted" legal victory Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that three civil charges related to the death of Officer Brian Sicknick have no merit.
In January 2023, Sandra Garza, who was the deceased Sicknick's girlfriend, filed a lawsuit seeking damages for wrongful death, conspiracy to violate civil rights, and negligence per se based on Washington's riot law.
In a twelve-page ruling, Mehta dismissed the wrongful death lawsuit and both negligence per se lawsuits. However, he let the two-count civil rights conspiracy lawsuit continue.
Three civil charges against Trump and two January 6 protesters dismissed over the death of Agent Bri... by emmanuel.rondon on Scribd
According to the judge, the Survival Law allows the legal representative of a person to take legal action on their behalf after their death. However, Garza was not Officer Sicknick's legal partner and, therefore, could not continue with said process.
According to the District of Columbia medical examiner's office, Sicknick died of "natural causes" the night after being taken to the emergency room after he responded to the January 6 riots at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
At the scene, the officer was pepper-sprayed by defendants Khater and Tanios. According to the coroner's office, "all that transpired on [January 6] played a role in his condition."
The officer ended up dying specifically from two thromboembolic strokes.
