NJ Man Gets 7 Years In Prison For Attacking Officer Brian Sicknick On Jan. 6

WASHINGTON, DC — A New Jersey man was sentenced to 80 months in prison Friday for assaulting police officer Brian Sicknick during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a New York Times report. Sicknick died a day after the attack.

Julian Elie Khater, 33, of Somerset, pleaded guilty in September to using pepper spray on Sicknick and other officers as thousands of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to disrupt a joint session of Congress gathered to certify the 2020 presidential election results.

Khater was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Julian Khater didn't mention the death of Sicknick or address the officer's family in a written statement he read aloud during the sentencing.

"I wanted to apologize to everybody," he said.

Sicknick, a New Jersey native, had several strokes in the hours after the attack. He died of natural causes a day later, according to a coroner.

According to court documents, Khater and a co-defendant George Tanios traveled together to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. Before the trip, authorities said Tanios purchased two canisters of bear spray and two canisters of pepper spray. He gave one of the canisters of pepper spray to Khater.

The two men attended a rally near the Ellipse held by former President Donald Trump before heading toward the Capitol with thousands of others, authorities said.

According to prosecutors, Khater deployed pepper spray at a line of officers from less than eight feet away, hitting Sicknick and two other officers.

Khater was arrested on Mar. 14, more than two months after the attack.

Tanios also pleaded guilty in July to misdemeanor charges related to the attack. He was sentenced Friday to time served, one year of probation, 100 hours of community service, and ordered to pay an unspecified fine, NBC News reported.

Sicknick's mother, two brothers, a sister-in-law, and his longtime girlfriend, Sandra Garza, addressed the judge in court before he imposed the sentences.

"Your selfish actions have caused more pain than you could ever imagine," said older brother Craig Sicknick. "My family is a wreck, and none of us have been even remotely unscathed as the result of your actions that day."

Khater and Tanios were both named as defendants in a lawsuit recently filed by Garza. The lawsuit claims the actions of the two men and Trump on Jan. 6 directly contributed to Sicknick's death.

According to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by The Times, Garza is seeking $10 million in damages each from Trump as well as Tanios and Khater.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.