Mitch McConnell snubbed by fallen officer’s family at Capitol riot Gold Medal ceremony

Members of the Capitol Police and the DC Metropolitan Police Department gathered in the rotunda of the US Capitol to honor law enforcement officers who fended off a crowd of Donald Trump supporters who wanted the bans struck down. 2020 elections.

Standing to accept the award on behalf of the police were Capitol Hill Police Chief Thomas Manger and DC Police Chief Robert Contee III, as well as family members of fallen officer Brian Sicknick. Sicknick suffered multiple strokes and died a day after defending the United States Capitol complex.

When it was time to present the medal, Sicknick’s parents and brother gave Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer a warm greeting, and his mother even planted a kiss on the New York Democrat’s cheek.

Senate Republican leader McConnell, standing next to Schumer, appeared to extend his hand, but was ignored by all members of the Sicknick family.

House Republican Leader McCarthy, who was to McConnell’s right, kept his hands firmly pressed around the box of medals he held. The officers’ family also didn’t seem to try to shake his hand.

McConnell holds out his hand to shake the hand of Brian Sicknick’s father, Charles, as he appeared on stage during the medal ceremony on behalf of his son.

McConnell reached out to shake hands with the honorees, but it appears that none of the six people on stage shook hands with him or McCarthy.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the solemn hour-long event Tuesday morning.

McConnell did not address the Sicknick family snub at a news conference shortly after the ceremony when pressed by reporters.

“I would respond by saying that today we gave the gold medal to the heroes of January 6,” he said before leaving.

Anti-Trump Republican Rep. Liz Cheney ignored DailyMail.com’s vociferous request to react to the slight. She was photographed hugging Sicknick’s mother, Gladys, after the ceremony.

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was sitting in the front row, said he did not see it.

Sicknick’s mother, Gladys, called McConnell “two-faced” in comments to CNN after the event for failing to condemn her party’s efforts to change the narrative on Jan. 6.

“I’m tired of them standing there and saying how wonderful the Capitol police are,” she said. ‘And then they turn around and… go down to Mar-a-Lago and kiss [Trump’s] call and come back and stay here and sit with… it just, it just hurts.

Sicknick’s brother told NBC and a group of reporters that McConnell and McCarthy represent the GOP’s failure to condemn the riots, holding them accountable for Republicans continuing to downplay the insurrection.

He takes everything my brother has made. It takes away from the heroism that my brother has shown,” he said.

It was made clearer when family members of fallen officer Brian Sicknick refused to take McConnell’s open palm.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the ceremony, her last major event as longtime leader of House Democrats.

“United in grief and gratitude, today we award them the Congressional Gold Medal: forever etching their heroism in our history,” Pelosi said during her remarks.

Sicknick (above) suffered a stroke during the riots and died a day later.

“In doing so, we thank those heroes for their service and sacrifice, especially the more than 140 members of our protection who were left with lasting scars and many more suffering indelible trauma.”

He did not mince words in describing the magnitude of the destruction that day.

“On January 6, we all witnessed the jubilant desecration of our Democracy Temple and a violent insurrection against our Republic,” Pelosi said.

McCarthy, who also spoke, thanked the Capitol and the DC police, but kept his speech focused on the overall theme of honoring law enforcement in general.

It’s a remarkable choice given that one of his biggest supporters for the presidency, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, has claimed that those arrested for storming the Capitol that day are “political prisoners.”

“Today we pay tribute to their service and sacrifice on January 6. These brave men and women in uniform stood firm in the line of duty for our country, and we will be forever grateful for that,” McCarthy said.

‘The Capitol Police and the DC Police are valued members of this community, but they are also members of another community. The law enforcement community, the law enforcement brotherhood.

He continued: ‘To all the law enforcement officers who keep this country safe, thank you. Wearing the badge means putting yourself in danger to protect others.’

Gladys Sicknick was emotional during the ceremony honoring the police officers who served that day

Outgoing Republican Rep. Liz Cheney hugs Gladys Sicknick after the medal ceremony

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they push through barricades to storm the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6.