Did medical examiners determine that US Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died because of injuries caused by Capitol rioters?

The District of Columbia’s chief medical examiner ruled that U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died from natural causes after suffering two strokes. Sicknick was on duty during the January 6, 2020, riot at the Capitol. He collapsed after returning to his office, was transferred to a hospital and died the next night. The examiner found that Sicknick’s death was not hastened by an injury. 

The police initially attributed his death to “injuries sustained while on-duty.”

In a Washington Post interview, the medical examiner did not dismiss the effects the riot had on his death. “All that transpired played a role in his condition,” he said.

Federal prosecutors charged two men on multiple counts for attacking officers, including Sicknick, with bear spray. The men were not charged with his death, as the medical examiner said the autopsy “found no evidence” of a reaction to the irritants.