WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. officials have arrested and charged two men with assaulting U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray during the Jan. 6 riot, but they do not know yet whether it caused the officer’s death.
Authorities arrested 39-year-old George Tanios, of Morgantown, West Virginia, and 32-year-old Julian Khater, of Pennsylvania, Sunday.
They were expected to appear in federal court Monday.
The idea that Sicknick died after being sprayed by a chemical irritant has emerged in recent weeks as a new theory in the case.
Investigators initially believed that Sicknick was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher.
Sicknick was one of five people who died in the chaos after rioters who attended Former President Trump’s “Stop The Steal” rally stormed the Capitol.
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