Bear Spray Assault On Fallen Jan. 6 Officer Ends In NJ Man's Plea

WASHINGTON, DC — A New Jersey native will plead guilty in connection with the death of a U.S. Capitol officer after the riots on January 6, 2021, court records show.

Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who grew up in South River, was among several officers who died or were injured in connection to the riot (two officers committed suicide after the riots). Sicknick was 42 when he died.

Officials charged two New Jersey natives, both living out of state at the time, with assaulting him.

Julian Elie Khater, 32, of State College, Pa. and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, W.V.. were charged with assault against a law enforcement officer. The FBI says the two men worked together to spray bear spray at Sicknick and other officers during the riot.

Khater will have a plea agreement hearing Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in front of a District of Columbia judge, court record shows. He relocated to Somerset after closing a business in State College, according to a LinkedIn page for him.

All three men had "significant roots" in Middlesex County, NJ.com reported. Tanios and Khater grew up together and left NJ to open food businesses, a report from last March says. They did not appear to know Sicknick before the riot.

Court records show Khater asked Tanios to "give me that bear shit" while reaching into Tanios' backpack outside the Capitol. Video shows Khater "standing directly across from a line of law enforcement officers" at a bike rack, including Sicknick.

A Metropolitan Police Department officer's body-worn camera captured Khater "observed with his right arm up high in the air, appearing to be holding a canister in his right hand and aiming it in the officers’ direction while moving his right arm from side to side," documents show.

Khater appears to spray something again several minutes later before another MPD officer sprays him, documents show.

Witnesses and tipsters identified Khater and Tanios to the FBI, documents show.

Sicknick had several strokes hours after he battled with a pro-Trump mob during the riot and died of natural causes, according to The New York Times.

The autopsy also found no evidence that Sicknick had an allergic reaction to chemicals but the medical examiner, Francisco J. Diaz, told The Washington Post: “All that transpired played a role in his condition.”

Sicknick died from acute brainstem and "cerebellar infarcts" due to basilar artery thrombosis, according to The New York Times, otherwise known as strokes.