Video: Family of fallen Capitol officer Brian Sicknick refuses to shake Mitch McConnell’s hand at medal ceremony

Family members of Brian Sicknick, the U.S. Capitol Police officer who died the day after being injured in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, refused to shake hands with Republican Congressional leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy as officers were honored with congressional medals Tuesday.

Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 were presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress bestows, at Tuesday’s ceremony.

Sicknick’s family members shook hands with Democratic Congressional leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but skipped past McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, and McCarthy, the House minority leader. At one point, the video showed McConnell holding his hand out for several seconds, but Sicknick’s family members ignored it and walked past him.

The snub was intentional, his family later said.

“Unlike Liz Cheney, [McConnell and McCarthy] have no idea what integrity looks like,” Sicknick’s brother Ken Sicknick told CBS News. “They can’t stand up for right and wrong. For them it’s party first.”