Judge Rules Out Segment of Lawsuit Against Trump in Officer Sicknick Case

(LibertySons.org) – Sandra Garza lost her best friend and the man she wanted to marry on January 7, 2021. She lived with Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick for nearly 11 years as his domestic partner — he had even designated her as his domestic partner and the executor of his will. She filed suit on January 5, 2023, against former President Donald Trump and two J6 rioters, Julian Khater and George Tanios, who attacked Sicknick with a chemical spray. A federal judge recently ruled against segments of her lawsuit moving forward.

Her complaint, filed in US District Court in the DC District, contained the following claims:

Count 1 – leveled against All Defendants: Wrongful Death
Count 2 – leveled against All Defendants: Conspiracy to Violate Civil Rights (interfering with official duties)
Count 3 – leveled against Khater and Tanios: Common-Law Assault
Count 4 – leveled against all Defendants: Negligence Per Se (rioting or inciting to riot)
Count 5 -leveled against Trump: Aiding and Abetting Common-Law Assault

US District Judge Amit Mehta issued an order on Tuesday, January 2, dismissing counts 1, 4, and 5 but allowing the plaintiff to continue her suit on counts 2 and 3. Mehta specifically ruled that Garza didn’t have standing to file suit for wrongful death.

Although the couple cohabited for approximately 11 years, they never filed a formal declaration of domestic partnership with the DC Mayor’s office, a legal requirement for the relationship to hold contractual validity. Additionally, the couple separated about six months before Sicknick’s death to reevaluate their relationship. According to Mehta’s interpretation of DC statutes, Sicknick’s declaration that Garza was his domestic partner in his will didn’t meet the legal standard to file for wrongful death.

Citing previous J6 cases where fellow jurists dismissed Negligence Per Se charges, Mehta dismissed both counts 4 and 5. Mehta said the statutes generally addressed legal prohibitions but weren’t narrow enough in scope to apply Negligence Per Se rules. However, under DC’s Survivor Act, Mehta held that Garza could continue to press her claims against the three defendants on counts 2 and 3 as the designated estate representative.

Brian Sicknick, 42, died after suffering a series of brain stem strokes as determined by Francisco Diaz, the city’s chief medical examiner, who deemed the officer’s death occurred from “natural” causes. He collapsed after defending the Capitol against rioters on January 6, 2021. However, Diaz’s report referred to “all that transpired” during the riot as a contributing factor that “played a role” in Sicknick’s death.

~Here’s to Our Liberty!