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Gov. Northam responds to death of Capitol police officer

Officer Brian Sicknick died as a result of his injuries sustained while engaging rioters at the Capitol (2021 Getty Images / AP)

Gov. Ralph Northam has released a statement, expressing sadness over the death of a Capitol police officer, who died as a result of Wednesday’s riots.

His statement is below:

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“Pam and I are deeply saddened by the death of United States Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, a resident of Northern Virginia.

“Officer Sicknick died as a result of injuries sustained during the insurrection at the Capitol on Wednesday. He was 42 years old and a military veteran who had served with the United States Capitol Police for 12 years.

“Officer Sicknick was killed while doing his job—defending those trapped in the Capitol building amid a violent attack on our democracy. His death is a tragedy, and those responsible must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“My prayers and those of the entire Commonwealth go to his family, his loved ones, and his fellow officers who work every day to protect the seat of American democracy from those who would seek to destroy it.”

Gov. Ralph Northam

According to Capitol Police, Sicknick died at 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 7 due to his injuries. Sicknick was responding to riots on Wednesday and collapsed when he returned to his division.

On Wednesday, Northam sent members of the Virginia National Guard, as well as 200 Virginia State Troopers to Washington, D.C.

Earlier Thursday, he announced that the Virginia National Guard would remain deployed in Washington until at least President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

This is not the first time Northam, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, have clashed.

Last May, President Trump criticized Northam, to which the governor replied, “our potatoes are fine.”

A few months later, in September, Trump called Northam a “crazy Governor.”