The U.S. Capitol Police officer who died shortly after defending the U.S. Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6 will be honored with a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Friday that Officer Brian Sicknick‘s body will arrive at the Capitol on Feb. 2 to “lie in honor.”
“The U.S. Congress is united in grief, gratitude and solemn appreciation for the service and sacrifice of Officer Brian Sicknick,” the Democratic pair said in a statement. “The heroism of Officer Sicknick and the Capitol Police force during the violent insurrection against our Capitol helped save lives, defend the temple of our democracy and ensure that the Congress was not diverted from our duty to the Constitution. His sacrifice reminds us every day of our obligation to our country and to the people we serve.”
Sicknick, 42, was declared dead at a hospital on Jan. 7 from injuries sustained while responding to the riot, according to the Capitol Police. The FBI interviewed 37 people suspected of being connected to Sicknick’s death, the bureau said earlier this month.
Both members of the Capitol Police and Congress will have an opportunity to pay their respects to Sicknick.
“On behalf of the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is our great privilege to pay tribute to Officer Sicknick with this lying-in-honor ceremony,” Pelosi and Schumer added. “May this ceremony and the knowledge that so many mourn with and pray for them be a comfort to Officer Sicknick’s family during this sad time.”
The congressional tribute will be held Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. and will be open to invited guests only due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said. A ceremonial departure is scheduled for noon, before Sicknick’s interment at Arlington National Cemetery.
A total of 35 people have been laid to rest in the rotunda, including President Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, President Abraham Lincoln, and, most recently, former Rep. John Lewis, who died in July. The practice dates back to 1852.
Editor’s note: The chief medical examiner for Washington, D.C., ruled in April that Sicknick died of natural causes. This report has been updated to attribute the assertion that Sicknick died of injuries sustained during the Jan. 6 riot to the Capitol Police statement on Jan. 7.
