When it comes to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died on January 7, we know a few hard facts.  One of those facts is that the New York Times lied about his cause of death to turn what would have been a normal day for leftists into a deadly "insurrection" narrative showcasing Trump-supporters.  The Times has walked back that lie, but an email blast shills a new narrative intended to criminalize conservatives.

The following is a bullet-point list of the few facts known about Officer Sicknick's last days.

• Sicknick was on duty at the Capitol on January 6.
• Two men now identified as Julian Elie Khater and George Pierre Tanios sprayed Sicknick with something.  This fact did not become public knowledge until weeks after the events.
• On the evening of January 6, Sicknick reported to his brother that he was home and fine, although he had gotten hit with pepper spray twice.  Pepper spray, while topically unpleasant, is considered safe, which is why the government routinely uses it against the American people.
• Sicknick collapsed and died the next day (January 7).
• Sicknick's family believes he died from a stroke.
• Sicknick's body was cremated, and the federal government refuses to identify — even to his family — Sicknick's cause of death.

The New York Times has been playing with those facts ever since.  On January 8, the Times reported as fact the claim that Sicknick had been beaten to death with a fire extinguisher:

At some point in the chaos — with the mob rampaging through the halls of Congress while lawmakers were forced to hide under their desks — he was struck with a fire extinguisher, according to two law enforcement officials.

That's not news; that's gossip.  Based on that gossip, the entire Democrat machine, whether in politics or the media, characterized the events on January 6 (which, in scope, were small compared to the BLM riots of 2020 and, in damage to the Capitol, were small compared to past leftist incursions and even a bombing) as a fiery insurrection that made every person on Capitol grounds a participant in a death penalty murder.

Over a month later, the Times quietly amended the article to admit that a fire extinguisher didn't figure in Sicknick's death:

Law enforcement officials initially said Mr. Sicknick was struck with a fire extinguisher, but weeks later, police sources and investigators were at odds over whether he was hit. Medical experts have said he did not die of blunt force trauma, according to one law enforcement official.

"He returned to his division office and collapsed," the Capitol Police said in the statement. "He was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries."

The above language is still what appears in the current iteration of the Times article.  It's a flabby narrative, so the Times is now trying something new.  It's shilling a new version of events that, by virtue of its urgent phrasing, implies that the pepper spray killed Sicknick.  This is the email blast the Times distributed:

New videos obtained by The New York Times show for the first time how the U.S. Capitol Police officer who died after facing off with rioters on Jan. 6 was attacked with chemical spray.

The officer, Brian D. Sicknick, who had been guarding the west side of the Capitol, collapsed later that day and died the next night. Little had been known about what happened to Officer Sicknick during the assault, and the previously unpublished videos provide new details about when, where and how he was attacked, as well as about the events leading up to the encounter.

Two rioters, Julian Elie Khater and George Pierre Tanios, were arrested on March 14 and charged with assaulting Officer Sicknick and two other officers with chemical spray. The investigation is continuing, and federal prosecutors haven't ruled out pursuing murder charges. 

The videos show Mr. Khater retrieving a can resembling bear spray from Mr. Tanios's backpack and then approaching a line of bike rack barricades manned by Officer Sicknick and his colleagues. For about two minutes, Mr. Khater waits in the crowd, observing the police. Then, at 2:23 p.m., rioters try to pull the bike racks away from the officers. Mr. Khater raises his arm over other rioters and sprays something toward Officer Sicknick. 

A thin stream of liquid is visible shooting from a canister in Mr. Khater's hand. It is unclear in the video what Mr. Khater is firing, but Officer Sicknick reacts immediately to the spray, turning and raising his hand.

Again, not news.  Two protesters did to Sicknick what police all over America routinely do to protesters who are not with BLM.  It's assault, but, absent hard information about Sicknick's cause of death, it's merely malevolent gossip to bolster the narrative.

The fact that the Times sent this spiteful missive tells us that the left is worried that its insurrection narrative about January 6 is collapsing.  The email blast can only be intended to stoke the dying fires behind a narrative intended to destroy conservatives and conservatism in America.

Image: Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, may he rest in peace.  Public Domain photo.