Family of Capitol police officer who died after Jan. 6 insurrection speak out after pardons

SOUTH RIVER, New Jersey -- The family members of fallen Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick are describing the sweeping pardons of the demonstrators that stormed Washington D.C. on January 6th, 2021, as a "betrayal of decency."

Officer Sicknick died a day after he was called to defend the Capitol after he was pepper sprayed during the attack.

Now the same men and women involved in the battle are getting a fresh start following President Donald Trump's sweeping pardon of those convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Sicknick's family is still dealing with the grief and agony of loss.

They're now processing one of the first moves by the new President to pardon all involved in the insurrection at the Capitol building.

Some 1,500 who stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, are receiving clemency and those in jail are getting a new lease on life.

This includes Julian Khater who was convicted of assaulting police officers including New Jersey native Brian Sicknick.

Sicknick suffered two strokes and died one day after the attack.

The move by President Trump is adding to the family's pain.

Officer Sicknick's brother Craig, called the move a "betrayal of decency" and adds the new President is a "poor excuse of a man."

The Governor of New Jersey is also upset by Khater's pardon.

"To say that that's upsetting is an understatement," Governor Murphy said.

Senator Cory Booker, who attended the inauguration, was also disappointed.

"Their family would be alive today. The person who was literally seen on camera beating Brian Sicknick has just been pardoned by this President, that's unacceptable to me," Booker said.

The Sicknick family issued a statement saying, "It is our hope that the truth of what happened that tragic day will survive, irrespective of partisan political objectives."