Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes, the Washington Post reports. A medical examiner said the Capitol riot 'played a role.'
- Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died after confronting rioters at the Capitol insurrection.
- Washington DC's medical examiner ruled he died of natural causes after having two strokes, The Washington Post reported.
- But the medical examiner told The Post that all that transpired at the riot "played a role in his condition."
Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes one day after confronting rioters at the January 6 Capitol riot, Washington, DC's, chief medical examiner has ruled, according to the Washington Post.
The medical examiner found that Sicknick had two strokes before he died, the Post reported.
Francisco J. Diaz, the medical examiner, told The Post that Sicknick, 42, did not have an allergic reaction to chemical irritants that would have caused his throat to tighten, nor did he have any internal or external injuries.
Diaz did say, however, that "all that transpired" at the Capitol riot "played a role in his condition."
The medical examiner's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Capitol Police previously said Sicknick died after he was injured while "physically engaging with protesters."
The department released a statement on Monday, which said, "the USCP accepts the findings from the District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner that Officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes."
Two men have been charged with conspiracy to injure Sicknick during the insurrection - an arrest affidavit accuses Julian Elie Khater, 32, of asking George Pierre Tanios, 39, for bear spray and then spraying it on Sicknick and two other officers.
A Grand Jury indicted Khater and Tanios on 10 counts, including conspiring to impede or injure officers; assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building using a deadly or dangerous weapon.