Sandra Garza, the longtime romantic partner of the late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, spoke out against former President Donald Trump in a new interview with CNN, where she characterized recent comments from Trump as “disgusting.” She was referring to recent assertions from the former president that he’s a “patriot” and “loves America,” as Garza summarized the remarks. Overall — no matter the fact that she and Sicknick supported Trump in the past — Garza appears to hold Trump at least partly responsible for the Capitol riot, saying that Republicans recently blocked a bill to create an independent commission to investigate the violence in order to “protect” Trump.
Sicknick died of what the D.C. medical examiner has said were natural causes — strokes, to be specific — very soon after helping defend the Capitol during the riot. Ahead of the Senate’s consideration of that commission bill — and the GOP’s blockade of it — Garza and Gladys Sicknick, the late officer’s mother, met with Republican Senators to push for their support of the measure. Referring in part to officers who died by suicide in the aftermath of the appalling Capitol violence, Garza commented as follows on CNN this week:
‘To hear Mitch McConnell asking his colleagues — well do me a personal favor and vote no on this [commission bill] — that’s appalling. That’s atrocious. It’s reprehensible. Why doesn’t he say that to Officer Liebengood’s family? Or Officer Jeffery Smith’s family? Or the numerous officers who were injured that day — I believe one officer lost an eye. Or Officer Hodges who almost lost his life that day, almost being crushed to death. Or even myself, I was not working for two months because I was so devastated and broken up over Brian’s death.’
Subsequently, Garza bluntly observed in reference to the GOP blockade of the independent commission that “they’re doing this to protect Donald Trump.” She also said that she wants “answers” from the former president, who publicly justified what took place in a Twitter post after the incident, saying that “these are the things and events that happen” when an election is stolen, which obviously did not occur.
As Garza put it:
‘For [Trump] to say he loves America, that he’s a patriot — it’s disgusting. The patriots are people like Rep. Liz Cheney, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, and all the Senators that voted yes [on the riot commission bill]. Those are the true patriots. those are the people that love America, and by the way… I had said that I would be willing to meet with Trump, not because I want to sit down and have tea and cookies with them. No, because I want answers. And the rest of the officers and the families — we deserve answers. I am going to slam him with hard questions. I am not intimidated by Donald Trump like some of his people on Capitol Hill are. I have absolutely no respect for these people. They’re selling their souls for power, for reelection and like Gladys had said in an earlier interview, to line their pockets. It’s disgusting.’
Watch Garza’s remarks below:
