Donald Trump FINALLY orders White House flags to half-staff for Capitol cop Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood as Joe Biden calls murdered officer's family to pay his respects
The White House finally lowered its flags to half staff on Sunday after three days of criticism over Donald Trump refusing to make the symbolic move to honor the Capitol Police officer who died from injuries sustained during Wednesday's Capitol riot.
The move came after the death of Howard Liebengood, 51, a second Capitol Hill officer, who took his own life on Saturday, three days after the MAGA mob stormed Congress.
Late Sunday afternoon, the White House caved into the pressure to lower the flag and order the same be done at military posts and other federal buildings and public grounds.
In a proclamation on Sunday evening, Trump released a statement claiming he was not lowering the flags for just Officers Sicknick and Liebengood, but for 'all law enforcement'.
'As a sign of respect for the service and sacrifice of United States Capitol Police Officers Brian D. Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, and all Capitol Police Officers and law enforcement across this great Nation… I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff,' Trump said in his statement.
It said nothing about the involvement of his own supporters in the murder and riot or whether Trump had reached out to the officer's family, who spoke to Joe Biden earlier Sunday.
The White House finally lowered its flags to half staff on Sunday after Donald Trump faced three days of criticism for not doing so immediately after a Capitol Police officer died Thursday from injuries sustained during the Capitol riot on Wednesday
At last: The flag over the executive mansion was lowered after pressure on Trump mounted with ally Chris Christie calling the failure to honor the murdered officer 'disgusting,' and after the death by suicide of a second Capitol Hill officer on Saturday
Honored: The coffin of Brian Sicknick was driven past the Capitol where he served Sunday ahead of his funeral
Mourning the fallen: Capitol Hill officers who served with Brian Sicknick were in tears as his coffin passed
Memorials started popping up near the Capitol to honor Sicknick's life, which he gave defending the Capitol from a mob attempting to disrupt Congress from certifying the election for Joe Biden
'RIP Hero': Signs, flags and flowers were erected in honor of Sicknick
In Trump's statement, he wrote that the flag lowering was to honor all Capitol Police, including Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, and all law enforcement. Liebengood died this weekend by suicide
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered on Friday that the flags at the Capitol be lowered to half staff to honor Sicknick
Brian Sicknick died Thursday after reportedly being hit on the head with a fire extinguisher during MAGA riots
The flags will remain at half staff until sunset on Wednesday, January 13, which marks exactly one week since the Capitol was breached by the pro-Trump mob.
Sicknick, 42, died Thursday from brain injuries he sustained while defending the Capitol building from thousands of pro-Trump rioters who breached the property on Wednesday.
The military veteran who served on the Capitol Police force for 12 years was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher by a protester, according to two law enforcement officials. He died the next day, making him the fifth casualty of the unprecedented siege.
So far, there are no reports of Trump reaching out to Sicknick's family, but Mike Pence has called them to offer his condolences, as aide to the vice president told The New York Times.
Joe Biden's office announced late Sunday that he had spoken earlier in the day to the fallen officer's brother.
And Nancy Pelosi issued a statement calling Officer Liebengood 'a patriot who dedicated his life to defending the Capitol and protecting all who serve, work in and visit this temple of our Democracy. His passing is a great tragedy that compounds the horror of this past week.'
His father, Howard Sr. had been Senate sergeant at arms from 1981 to 1983.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, once an ally of Trump, bashed the president for not lowering the flags. Sicknick was originally from New Jersey and his extended family still live there.
'I mean, it is a national disgrace that the flag at the White House is not at half-staff for that Capitol Hill police officer, who gave his life in protecting one of our institutions of democracy,' Christie said during a panel discussion on ABC's 'This Week' Sunday morning.
On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the U.S. Capitol fags be lowered to half staff to honor Brian Sicknick – and several other private buildings in Washington D.C. followed the example.
Virginia Representative Don Beyer, a Democrat who represents the district where Sicknick lives, called for the Capitol Police officer to lie in state – an honor usually reserved for presidents, politicians and Supreme Court justices, among other highly-regarded individuals.
'He made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting those trapped in the Capitol amid a violent assault on our democracy itself.' Beyer said. 'Like others before him who died in defense of the people's representatives, he deserves to lie in state.'
National Guard troops stand watch in front of the Senate Hart Office Building on Sunday where the flag can be seen at half staff
Trump has still remained largely silent on the breach of the Capitol building on Wednesday thousands of his most fervent supporters who descended on Capitol Hill after Trump denounced the 2020 election results at a rally near the White House and instructed them to march 'peacefully', noting that his side needed to 'fight.'
Twitter announced it was banning Trump indefinitely, meaning the president has less ability to spout off his every thought into the far-reaching platform.
On Thursday, before he was banned, Trump released a video condemning the violence at the Capitol, but insisting the election was stolen and 'rigged' for Joe Biden.
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