FBI Charges 2 Men With Assaulting Officer Brian Sicknick With Bear Spray During Capitol Siege

Federal authorities have arrested two men allegedly seen on video attacking Officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray during the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Julian Khater and George Thanios were identified from videos and police body cam footage.

Khater was heard on video saying to Thanios, “Give me that bear sh**.” Nine minutes later, he was seen allegedly spraying bear spray into the face of Sicknick and other officers. Later that evening, Sicknick returned to his office, where he collapsed. He died the next day.

The officer's exact cause of death has not been determined. Khater and Thanios were not charged with Sicknick’s death, but instead charged with assaulting him and two other police officers.

The two suspects are friends from childhood and were identified through tips that came in after their faces appeared on FBI wanted posters. Khater is a restaurant manager, and Thanios owns a sandwich shop in West Virginia.

The Justice Department says more than 315 people have been charged in connection with the assault on the Capitol.

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