CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A tentative trial date has been set for two men charged in the assault of a police officer who died after defending the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday scheduled a June 6 jury trial for George Tanios of Morgantown, West Virginia, and Julian Khater of State College, Pennsylvania.
FILE – Violent protesters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Prosecutors have said Khater sprayed U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick and other officers with chemicals after retrieving a canister from Tanios’ backpack. Sicknick later collapsed and died.
Khater, who remains behind bars, has pleaded not guilty to assault charges. Tanios, who is free on personal recognizance, faces numerous charges, including assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Neither Tanios nor Khater have been charged in Sicknick’s death.
A Washington medical examiner last April determined that Sicknick suffered a stroke and died from natural causes.
Capitol Police accepted the medical examiner’s findings but said the ruling didn’t change the fact that Sicknick had died in the line of duty, “courageously defending Congress and the Capitol.”
