Trump ‘needs to be in prison’: Girlfriend of Capitol police officer who died after 6 January riots

Sandra Garza dated Capitol policeman Brian Sicknick for 11 years. He died a day after the 6 January 2021 riots

Capitol Breach Officer Killed (The Washington Post)

The longtime girlfriend of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick – who died one day after being attacked by rioters who stormed the building on 6 January 2021 – has claimed in a new interview that the 45th president is “just a horrible person” who “needs to be in prison”.

Sandra Garza, speaking to PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff, said that both she and Mr Sicknick had voted for President Donald J. Trump.

“Brian did not live long enough to see the evidence that has come forth to show what kind of man Donald Trump really is,’” Ms Garza said. “Clearly, he doesn’t support law enforcement. I mean, he watched for hours law enforcement being pummeled and beaten, attacked, and he did nothing ... I think Brian would be horrified.

“I think he would have viewed Donald Trump in a very different light.”

Mr Sicknick – described by his girlfriend as “one of the sweetest, kindest men I have ever met” – was sprayed by a chemical substance on 6 January as rioters breached security at the Capitol. He collapsed later that evening, had two strokes and died the next day at the age of 42.

Ms Garza took issue with anyone claiming that the police officer’s death was unrelated to the tragic events that unfolded almost exactly a year ago in the nation’s capital.

“Brian was running from one end of the Capitol to the other end of the Capitol. He was exerting himself. And he was attacked,” she told PBS. “All of those factors combined, and being highly stressed, producing a lot of adrenaline and cortisol in the body, worrying about his colleagues, as well as himself.

“I mean, I know if I was approached by thousands of people, and there was only three or four officers next to me, and they’re screaming at me and throwing things at me and assaulting me, I would be pretty darn stressed.

“So I think, definitely, that played a role in tipping the scales for him to pass away much faster.”

She added: “I hold Donald Trump 100 percent responsible for what happened on January 6 and all of the people that have enabled him, enabled him that day, and continue to enable him now, but definitely yes ... Donald Trump has been playing these legal wrangling games for decades.

“He knows how to skirt the system. He knows how to ... he’s a very litigious person himself. And then, when he’s been sued, he knows how to play these games to get around things and avoid jail and prison time.

“So, that’s the sad piece. But it would be very, what’s the word I’m looking for?, satisfying to me to see him in prison.”

Ms Garza highlighted the four suicides of Capitol police officers who’d been working on 6 January and pointed out Mr Trump has yet to contact her to express condolences.

“He doesn’t have the courage or the spine to do it,” she told PBS. “He just doesn’t.”

She didn’t have much better opinions about Congress when asked what she would say to its members.

“What I would say to that is, Trump is the type of man who incites violence, and so it is not going to stop,” she told PBS. “And if they don’t stand up and say, enough is enough, it is just going to continue. And, sadly, I really worry about safety of our officers still. I worry about another January 6-like attack. I mean, this is serious stuff. And they’re concerned about money in their pocket and power.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s really ridiculous. They don’t care about the American people. That says it right there. They care about themselves.”