On Tuesday the police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 were presented with the highest honor from Congress, the Congressional Gold Medal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the officers for standing up for democracy and protecting members of Congress from the pro-Trump insurrectionists who overran barricades and stormed the Capitol.
Among those honored was Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, a New Jersey native, who died a day after being assaulted during the Jan. 6 attack. The emotional and political fallout is still raw for Sicknick’s family, who refused to shake hands with Republican leaders at the ceremony, ignoring both Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
“We were talking about saying something. Then we decided the best way was to ignore them. We had no idea it was going to blow up like this. We had no idea and I am glad it did,” said Gladys Sicknick, Brian Sicknick’s mother, on CNN. “It made them think about what they do. I mean, just sitting in these senators’ offices and looking at the pictures of their families behind them — and I’m thinking what do they say to their children and grandchildren when they go home? What kind of country is this going to be? Do they really want them to live in a country of their making?”
