Watch the moment relatives of a fallen January 6 police officer snubbed Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy and refused to shake their hands
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- The family of fallen police officer Brian Sicknick snubbed Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.
- Sicknick's family filed past McConnell and McCarthy when receiving his Congressional Gold Medal.
- They appeared to ignore both men, and refuse to shake their hands.
The family members of Brian Sicknick, a Capitol police officer who died after being injured in the January 6 riot, were seen snubbing GOP leaders Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday.
The moment happened during the medal ceremony to award Capitol police officers with Congressional Gold Medals. Sicknick's family was seen greeting Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. They ignored McConnell and McCarthy and filed past both men without acknowledging them, even though McConnell was seen holding out his hand and waiting for a handshake.
—Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) December 6, 2022
McConnell in January 2021 blamed Trump for the riot, saying he "provoked" the mob that descended upon the Capitol. He has remained critical of Trump, and the rift between the two only deepened over the midterms. However, in April, McConnell said he would still back Trump if the former president were to become the GOP's 2024 presidential candidate.
McCarthy has been more conciliatory toward Trump. In January 2021, McCarthy called for Trump to "accept his share of responsibility" for the riot. Recordings of McCarthy's phone conversations have revealed that he, at one point, told House Republicans he was going to urge Trump to resign. However, McCarthy visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago on January 28, 2021 — just weeks after the riot — in a show of loyalty. He visited Trump in Florida again in May after his revealing phone calls about Trump were leaked.
"They're just two-faced. I'm just tired of them standing there and saying how wonderful the Capitol police is, and they turn around and go down to Mar-a-Lago and kiss his ring and come back," Gladys Sicknick, Brian Sicknick's mother, told CNN reporter Daniella Diaz, referencing Trump's Florida residence.
Brian Sicknick's brother, Ken Sicknick, told CBS journalist Scott MacFarlane that McConnell and McCarthy did not deserve a handshake.
"Unlike Liz Cheney, they have no idea what integrity is," Ken Sicknick said. "They can't stand up for what's right and wrong."
Sicknick, 42, was a police officer who collapsed after being injured during the riot. Officials say he suffered two strokes and died of natural causes after the riot, per The Washington Post.
When asked about the snub from Sicknick's family, McConnell told CNN: "I would respond by saying today we gave the gold medal to the heroes of January 6. We admire and respect them. They laid their lives on the line and that's why we gave a gold medal today to the heroes of January 6."
A representative for McConnell told Insider the GOP leader had already addressed the matter at his press conference on Tuesday. Representatives for McCarthy did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.