When you live somewhere, you develop friendships and contacts that survive — especially in the age of email and social media.
I lived and worked in Baltimore and Washington, D.C, for a decade-plus and my commute took me to Union Station and then past the U.S. Capitol. Many of my students had press passes on the Hill and that landmark was simply part of work-day life.
Right after the rioting last week, I received an email through church contacts requesting prayers for the “repose of the soul of a friend and U.S. Capitol Police officer, Brian,” as well as prayers for other police who were injured. Christians in the USCP and linked to it were spreading this request.
It’s impossible to read all of the coverage of the January 6th riots. But if you dig into the coverage at all, you are sure to hit detailed coverage of the “Fight for Trump” rioters who carried Christian symbols and banners inside the U.S. Capitol security zone, even while surrounded by others chanting, “Hang Mike Pence” and slogans that can’t be printed here.
Let me stress, once again, that this coverage was and is valid. The impact of QAnon in corners of white evangelicalism cannot be denied and many of other conspiracy theory believers “speak evangelical” even if they’re not churchgoers.
The note from friends in Beltway land led me to look for signs of religion-news coverage on the other side of that battle line between police and the rioters. I know the U.S. Capitol community well enough to know that there are all kinds of prayer groups and Bible studies there, on both sides of the aisle and crossing them. Do similar groups exist in the USCP? Did anyone ask if Brian Sicknick was part of such a support network?
It’s clear that Sicknick was an unusual and even inspiring man, an officer appreciated by Democrats and Republicans. We know something about his politics, naturally. He was an Air National Guard veteran who, in some ways, backed Donald Trump. Sicknick was also a critic of many mainstream Republicans.
A Washington Post story quoted Chief Master Sgt. Lance C. Endee — Sicknick’s squad leader in the guard — as saying: “I think Brian had a bigger impact on people than he would have ever realized.” That same story included this:
In a statement, Sicknick’s family said “many details regarding Wednesday’s events and the direct causes of Brian’s injuries remain unknown and our family asks the public and the press to respect our wishes in not making Brian’s passing a political issue.” The statement added, “Brian is a hero and that is what we would like people to remember.” …
In response to a query on Friday evening, a White House spokesman said Trump and his administration “extend our prayers to Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s family as we all grieve the loss of this American hero.”
We know that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi directed flags at the Capitol to be flown at half staff to honor Sicknick. We know that Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) has asked that Sicknick be buried with posthumous honors at Arlington National Cemetery. We also know that veteran USCP officer Howard Liebengood died by suicide on Saturday, after being on duty at the Capitol during the riots.
Are there “religion ghosts,” to use a GetReligion term, on the police side of this drama?
I do not know. However, I don’t see any evidence that anyone has asked or that reporters were involved in this story who would have known to check for links between Sicknick and others with faith-based support networks — among officers or others — on the Hill.
We do know that reporters immediately dug into his politics — which was logical and valid (see this New York Post op-ed). We know that there are logical questions to ask about Trump’s many statements backing police and the events at the U.S. Capitol. Take this passage from The New York Times report on Sicknick’s death:
The death of Officer Sicknick amplified the nation’s grief in the wake of the shocking attack on the Capitol by rioters, inflamed by President Trump’s calls to stop Congress from counting electoral votes and officially declaring Joseph R. Biden Jr. the winner of November’s election. …
In all, five have died since the riot began, though three of them were not killed by hostile action. But the beating of an officer brought waves of condolences from lawmakers in both parties still reeling from the event. It also exposed one of the many contradictions of the Trump presidency in his final weeks in the Oval Office. A president who campaigned as a “law and order” candidate, boasting about his relationships with police unions and demonizing those protesting racist policing, incited a riot that led to the death of a member of the law enforcement community.
As for the fallen officer, the Times noted":
Mr. Sicknick joined the Air National Guard and was deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1999, according to a statement from the New Jersey chapter of the National Guard. In 2003, he was sent to Kyrgyzstan. He joined the Capitol Police in 2008.
He was not shy to share his opinion. He wrote letters to his congressman, Representative Donald S. Beyer Jr., Democrat of Virginia, opposing the impeachment of Mr. Trump, and he advocated gun control.
Back at the Washington Post, the main headline said: “U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died after assault on Capitol, protected with a kind touch.” A summary statement noted: “Those who encountered Sicknick said his political views did not align neatly with one political party.”
In other personal details, readers learned:
A family statement says Sicknick was the youngest of three brothers who grew up in a borough along the I-95 corridor south of New Brunswick, and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Phoenix. He rescued dachshunds and loved the New Jersey Devils hockey team. …
When praised for “going above and beyond,” [Endee] said Sicknick would “brush it off like it was no big deal,” saying “That’s what we do.”
The two stayed in touch for nearly two decades, sending jokes to their alumni group. When the news came last night, Endee said he heard from over three dozen current or former squad members hoping it was not the Brian Sicknick they knew. “I think Brian had a bigger impact on people than he would have ever realized,” Endee said.
So we know about his politics, his views on foreign policy, his love of hockey, his volunteer work saving dachshunds and that Democrats and Republicans both appreciated his unusual kindness and sense of empathy for people working in a tense building. We know he was attacked by rioters who claimed they were fighting for a president that Sicknick, to some degree, also supported.
I guess that’s that. That’s life, maybe.
But there was also a network of Christians in police work that knew him, loved him and asked for prayers for him, even after his death.
I know that religion-beat professionals cannot be assigned to every major story. I know that waves of journalists gave their all last week covering a stunningly complex and emotional story. Nothing I am saying here is meant as criticism of those efforts.
However, based on what I know about Capitol Hill life, I think it’s highly likely that there was more — in terms of religion hooks — to all of this than some rioters with “Jesus Saves” signs. There is more to life than politics and conspiracy theories. Did anyone talk to the leaders of prayer groups inside the U.S. Capitol?
FIRST IMAGE: Screen shot from image at CNN and other sources in social media.