Judge Dismisses Most Civil Claims Against Trump Over Death of Capitol Police Officer Sicknick

Judge Dismisses Most Civil Claims Against Trump Over Death of Capitol Police Officer Sicknick


A federal judge on Tuesday handed former President Donald Trump and two Jan. 6 protesters a legal reprieve when he threw out most civil claims in a lawsuit filed against them following the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

“In a 12-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed three of the five civil counts in a lawsuit filed last January by Sandra Garza, Sicknick’s girlfriend,” according to Fox News.

The suit against Trump and Jan. 6 rioters Julian Khater and George Tanios is seeking damages from all three over claims of wrongful death, conspiracy to violate civil rights, and negligence per se, the latter of which is based on a D.C. anti-riot law.

In his Tuesday ruling, Mehta dismissed the wrongful death and both negligence per se claims.

“While Mehta dismissed the wrongful death and negligence civil counts against Trump, Garza’s claims against the defendants under D.C.’s Survival Act and the conspiracy to violate a civil rights claim will proceed,” Fox News noted further. “The Survival Act allows an individual’s legal representative to pursue legal action on their behalf after their death.”

Garza’s lawyer, Mark Zaid, told Fox News Digital that they are “considering our next step options” regarding deposing Trump.

“We are pleased to see that our lawsuit in pursuit of justice for the late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died in the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection, has been permitted to continue. We are now considering our next step options, to include deposing former President Trump,” Zaid told the outlet.

On the day of the riot at the Capitol, Sicknick was pepper sprayed by Khater and Tanios. The next day, he collapsed and died from two thromboembolic strokes.

The D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office determined Sicknick died of “natural causes” from a series of strokes and that “all that transpired on [January 6] played a role in his condition.”


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