Two South Carolina Republicans have introduced a bill that would allow U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died of injuries sustained during the Jan. 6 rioting in the Capitol, to lie in honor there before his burial at Arlington National Cemetery on Feb. 3.
The legislation, introduced by Rep. Ralph Norman and Sen. Tim Scott, will also involve a plaque being placed in the Capitol in Sicknick's memory and allows the House Sergeant at Arms to pay for the police officer's funeral services, CNN reported Friday.
"Officer Sicknick died because he put the lives of members of Congress and their staff before his own safety — he did his duty," said Gus Papathanasiou, president of the union representing rank-and-file officers for the police department said. "We should commemorate his life and service with respect and dignity."
The proposal must pass with unanimous consent. Sicknick died after he had been hit in the head with a fire extinguisher during the Capitol building violence.
Lying in state is reserved for American government leaders while lying in honor is reserved for private citizens. Since the tradition of lying in state began in 1852, 32 government officials and military officers have been honored in that way, but only four people have been approved for being laid in honor, reports The Hill, quoting the Architect of the Capitol.
Two Capitol Police officers who were shot to death in 1998 were the first private citizens to lie in honor. Since then, Rosa Parks and the late Rev. Billy Graham were also chosen to lie in honor.
"The attacks at the Capitol on January 6th show us that, now more than ever, we must support our police," Norman said in a statement.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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