Investigators are now focusing on whether or not a chemical irritant contributed to the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick as more questions arise over the story of him being beaten to death with a fire extinguisher at the January 6 riot.
Sicknick was the only cop whose death remains unexplained. Other officers killed themselves after the mob of some 800 MAGA fanatics storming the Capitol building on January 6.
The exact details of what happened to him remain murky nearly two months on.
After the initial riot, he returned to his field office where he collapsed. He was then taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. At first, it was reported in The New York Times that Sicknick was hit on the head with a fire extinguisher by members of the mob.
It was first reported on January 7, the day after the riot.
Sicknick's family have since revealed to DailyMail.com that he in fact was in good spirits on January 6 at night, and that he'd texted his brother to say he had only been pepper sprayed.
Sicknick’s father, Charles, 81, later told Reuters that on January 7, as the family were told that he had a blood clot on his brain and had suffered a stroke. He died before they got there.
Now, the FBI is looking into the theory that he was hit with a chemical irritant like bear mace or pepper spray, according to ABC News.
Sicknick's body did not have evidence of major blunt force trauma and investigators believe that he had an adverse reaction to pepper spray. Above, a Trump supporter is seen deploying bear spray at the Capitol riot
It was previously reported by The New York Times that they'd identified a 'single suspect' who was armed with bear mace at the Capitol.
That person has not been name and no one has been charged over Sicknick's death.
Sicknick's mother told DailyMail.com that she believes he died the result of a stroke.
The Medical Examiner has yet to return a cause of death and the FBI and federal prosecutors are struggling to put together a murder case.
Last week it emerged that new video footage is being examined in a bid to identify suspects and anything that might help establish what led to the officer’s death; a death still being treated as a homicide despite the absence of a cause of death or any persons of interest.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that investigators are now considering an adverse reaction to the bear spray with which rioters sprayed cops as a potential factor.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking at a congressional tribute to Sicknick on February 3
The remains of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries sustained during the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, is carried up the East Front steps prior to lying in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S. February 02
A research paper into the health hazards of capsaicin, the active ingredient in both pepper and bear spray, uncovered by DailyMail.com and published by the University of North Carolina, found that one potentially lethal side effect of inhalation was, ‘acute hypertension (similar to ammonia inhalation), which in turn can cause headache and increase the risk of stroke.’
But pepper spray – used by both cops and rioters - has a higher percentage of this active ingredient than bear spray, rioters reported seeing cops sprayed with their own pepper spray amid the confusion and Sicknick told his brother he had been sprayed twice by pepper spray.
Sicknick’s mother said that the family are still waiting for an explanation as to why her son ended up on life support just hours after telling his sibling he was fine.
She said that the intense speculation that has swirled up around his death and its politicizing has only compounded the family’s pain.
She said, ‘It hasn’t helped, no. It’s very hard not knowing [what happened] but we have to wait for a finding just like everybody else.’
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