Gladys Sicknick, mother of the late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, claimed in a new ad that her son had died because of “people like” Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
The Republican Accountability Project, chaired by Bill Kristol and formerly known as Republican Voters Against Trump, shared the ad on Tuesday with the caption, “‘My son died because of people like Kari Lake.’ Watch this powerful testimony from Gladys Sicknick, mother of the Capitol Police officer who died after January 6.”
“My son died because of people like Kari Lake.”
Watch this powerful testimony from Gladys Sicknick, mother of the Capitol Police officer who died after January 6.
NEW from Republican Accountability PAC: pic.twitter.com/2n0FgeEdnb
— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) November 1, 2022
“I’m Gladys Sicknick, I’m the mother of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who died defending our country on January 6,” Sicknick said over footage of the Capitol Hill riot.
“Kari Lake is very dangerous for our country. She saw what happened on January 6 and continues to spread ‘The Big Lie,’” Sicknick continued. “We’re going to have more violence because people — they believe whatever she says. It’s very dire for our democracy, for our country, with candidates like Kari Lake. My son died because of people like Kari Lake.”
Lake has certainly — and repeatedly — questioned the integrity of the 2020 election. She said during a Republican primary debate in June that she would not have certified Arizona’s vote counts in the 2020 presidential election, calling the whole process corrupt and later saying of President Joe Biden, “He lost the election, and shouldn’t be in the White House.”
But still, the ad draws a conclusion that doesn’t appear to fit the facts. Gladys Sicknick lays out the narrative in such a way that it seems designed to make viewers believe that her son died in the thick of the riot while protesters were crushing and beating him, spraying him with chemicals. She even describes him as “the Capitol Police officer who died defending our country on January 6th.”
But Sicknick actually died the following day — on January 7th — and according to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Francisco Diaz, he died of natural causes. Sicknick collapsed at the Capitol around 10 p.m. on the evening of the 6th, and died nearly 24 hours later after suffering two strokes, Diaz’s report confirmed. The medical examiner also stated that Sicknick did not suffer any allergic reaction to chemicals that were sprayed on him, nor did he appear to have any serious internal or external injuries that would have contributed to his death.
