Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Assaulting Officer Who Later Died

Julian Khater, originally from New Jersey has been sentenced to almost seven years in prison this Friday. He was accused by a federal court in the District of Columbia on two counts of assault on a police officer.

On January 6, 2021, Khater traveled to Washington DC with another detainee for the events of the day. Among his belongings were two cans of bear repellent and two cans of pepper spray, according to the Justice Department indictment.

After listening to the speech given by then President Donald Trump, the two men walked to the Capitol, where they confronted, along with a mob the police officers who were trying to stop their entry into the building.

During this confrontation, Khater used pepper spray to attack Officer Brian Sicknick and another police officer in the face. Both Khater and his partner, George Tanios, pleaded guilty last year to charges in connection with the assault on the Capitol.

Unfortunately, Officer Sicknick died a day after the incident due to a stroke. Although a coroner ruled at the time that his death was “natural”, lawyers for his sentimental partner, Sandra Garza, claim in the lawsuit they filed that, “all the events of January 6 played a role in the condition that led to the death” of the police officer.

Khater, who has been in incarceration since March 2021, has now been sentenced to almost seven years in prison.

Sicknick, who died at the age of 42, had been part of the Capitol Police force since 2008 and was one of the 140 agents who were attacked by the protesters during the storming at the Capitol.