As the country recovers from the tragic events of Wednesday, January 6th, our nation also remembers the man who lost his life defending the center of our nation’s government. 

Both chambers of the house were scheduled to meet to certify the Electoral College votes for President-Elect Joe Biden. However, a Pro-Trump mob sieged the Capitol, forcing the whole building to go into lock-down. In the aftermath of the violent chaos, five people lost their lives. One of the five was a member of the Capitol Police Force. 

Officer Brian Sicknick, a New Jersey native, passed away Thursday evening “due to injuries sustained while on-duty.” According to law enforcement, he was struck with a fire extinguisher while physically engaging with the violent mob. As a military veteran, he had served on the Capitol Police Force for over 12 years. 

The FBI is currently investigating his death. They have conducted dozens of interviews with possible suspects. Furthermore, fourteen other police officers were also injured in the aftermath. 

Sicknick’s brother Ken Sicknick, released a statement on behalf of his family. “Brian is a hero, and that is what we would like people to remember,” he expressed, “Many details regarding Wednesday’s events and the direct causes of Brian’s injuries remain unknown, and our family asks the public and the press to respect our wishes in not making Brian’s passing a political issue.” 

To honor Officer Sicknick’s life, Governor Phil Murphy ordered U.S. and New Jersey flags to fly at half-staff on Saturday, January 9th at all state buildings and facilities. The White House also lowered its flag to pay tribute to Sicknick. 

However, those who had some responsibility in the death of Sicknick quickly tried to switch their narrative. Ted Cruz, a senator from Texas, took to Twitter offering his condolences, “Devastating. Heidi and I are lifting up in prayer the family of the U.S. Capitol Police officer who tragically lost his life keeping us safe. He was a true hero.” Yet, Cruz was very vocal against certifying Biden’s Electoral College votes. He continually pushed forth election fraud conspiracies. Minutes after tweeting his performative tweet, the hashtag #TedCruzKilledACop was trending, insinuating Cruz was directly responsible for the death of Officer Sicknick. 

Mia Lombardi, junior at Wayne Hills, shared her thoughts regarding the matter. “The killing of Officer Sicknick was awful and eye opening for the country. These so called ‘patriots’ stormed the capitol holding ‘blue lives matter flags’ while they terrorized the Capitol police,” she said, “The killing of officer Brian Sicknick was a symbol of the hypocrisy demonstrated by the pro-Trump mob and will never be forgotten.” 

Lombardi certainly makes a valid point. Trump and his administration coined themselves the party of “law and order” multiple times during the Black Lives Matter movement this past summer. However, his supporters’ childish antics resulted in the death of a law enforcement officer. This event truly marks the tragic hypocrisy of Trump’s presidency in his final days in office.