Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy were snubbed on Tuesday during the Congressional Gold Medal award ceremony for police officers who defended the US Capitol on January 6.
Members of the Capitol Police and DC Metropolitan Police Department gathered in the US Capitol rotunda to honor the law enforcement officers who fended off a mob of Donald Trump's supporters who wanted the 2020 election overturned.
Standing to accept the award on behalf of the police were Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger and DC Police Chief Robert Contee III, as well as members of fallen officer Brian Sicknick's family. Sicknick suffered multiple strokes and died a day after he defended the US Capitol complex.
When it came time to present the medal, Sicknick's parents and brother gave Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warm greetings, his mother even planting a kiss on the New York Democrat's cheek.
GOP Senate leader McConnell, standing next to Schumer, appeared to extend his hand - which was ignored by each of Sicknick's family members.
House GOP Leader McCarthy, who was on McConnell's right, kept his hands firmly pressed around the medal box he was holding. The officers family did not appear to attempt to shake his hand, either.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and (off-camera) House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stood in line to present Congressional gold medals to the US Capitol police and DC metro police
McConnell holds his hand out to shake the hand of Brian Sicknick's father Charles as he appeared on stage during the medal ceremony on his son's behalf
McConnell reached out to shake the honorees' hands but it appears that none of the six people on stage shook hands with him nor with McCarthy
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the solemn hour-long event on Tuesday morning
McConnell didn't address the Sicknick family's snub at a press conference shortly after the ceremony when pressed by reporters.
'I would respond by saying today we gave the gold medal to the heroes of January 6th,' he stated before walking away.
Anti-Trump GOP Rep. Liz Cheney ignored DailyMail.com's shouted request for reaction to the snub. She was pictured hugging Sicknick's mother Gladys after the ceremony.
Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was sitting among the front few rows, said he did not see it.
Sicknick's mother Gladys called McConnell 'two-faced' in comments to CNN after the event for his failure to condemn his party's efforts to change the narrative about January 6.
'I’m just tired of them standing there and saying how wonderful the Capitol police is,' she said. 'And then they turn around and…go down to Mar-a-Lago and kiss [Trump's] ring and come back and stand here and sit with - it just, it just hurts.'
Sicknick's brother told NBC and a gaggle of reporters that McConnell and McCarthy represent the GOP's failure to condemn the riot - and held them responsible for the Republicans who continue to downplay the insurrection.
'It takes away everything my brother's done. It takes away the heroism my brother's shown,' he said.
It was most clear when members of fallen officer Brian Sicknick's family refused to take McConnell's open palm
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the ceremony, her final major event as House Democrats' longtime leader.
'United in grief and gratitude, today we award them the Congressional Gold Medal: forever etching their heroism into our history,' Pelosi said during her remarks.
Sicknick (above) suffered a stroke during the riot and died a day later
'In doing so, we thank those heroes for their service and sacrifice – especially more than 140 members of our protection, left with lasting scars and many more suffering from indelible trauma.'
She did not mince words in describing the magnitude of destruction that day.
'On January 6th, we all witnessed the gleeful desecration of our Temple of Democracy and a violent insurrection against our Republic,' Pelosi said.
McCarthy, who also spoke, thanked Capitol and DC police but kept his speech focused on the broad theme of honoring law enforcement in general.
It's a notable choice given one of his biggest supporters for the Speakership, 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 in January 6. These brave men and women in uniform stood strong in the line of duty for our country - and we're forever grateful for that,' McCarthy said.
'The Capitol Police and DC police are valued members of this community - but they are also members of another community. The community of law enforcement, the brotherhood of law enforcement.'
He continued, 'To all law enforcement officers that keep this country safe, thank you. Putting on the badge means putting yourself in harm's way to protect others.'
Gladys Sicknick was emotional during the ceremony to honor the cops 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 barricades to storm the US Capitol in Washington D.C on January 6
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