For climbing through a window, Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed exactly five years ago today, on January 6, 2021. She was gunned down by Lieutenant Michael Byrd, a Capitol police officer at that time, with a troubled service record, who claimed it was his last resort. This is a lie, as dastardly as the Left ever tells.
Justifiably Killed?
Over the last one year, it has been gratifying to see the U.S. Department of Justice, under Pam Bondi, address so many cases that have long lingered because of the two-tiered justice system that the Left had been championing for decades. One troubling case that has been put to bed, that of Ashli Babbitt's, falls short of restoring the reputation of the victim.
In 2024, Babbitt's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit for $30 million. Judge Ana Reyes of the U.S. District Court scheduled the trial for July 20, 2026, 16 days after our quarter millennial anniversary. The plaintiffs contended that, "Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby. Ashli posed no threat to the safety of anyone.”
On that day, except for Babbitt, no one else died at the hands of another during the protest and resulting riot. Biden's Department of Justice absurdly claimed that Babbitt's rights were not violated during the encounter with Lt. Byrd, a black American, and that it “was reasonable” for Byrd to have shot her in self-defense.
With Biden’s DOC mercifully out of the picture, thankfully the Trump DOJ was able to reach a $5 million settlement for Babbitt family. Sadly, her saga likely will fade.
No Excuse
Ashli, who was 35 years old, along with her husband Aaron, owned a successful swimming pool business. Departing from San Francisco, she travelled to Washington, D.C., initially to attend the “Women for America First” rally to be held on January 6 at the Ellipse. The family’s lawsuit contended that the U.S. government, through its officers, was negligent on a variety of issues which resulted in her wrongful death.
The fatal shooting occurred at the Capitol’s east entrance. J6 protesters had already filled up the hallway outside of the lobby. Two people in the crowd undid the glass panels in the lobby doors, which enabled others to pass through. Ashli’s life ended the moment she was able to hoist herself up through one of the openings.
Lt. Byrd reported afterward that he fired on Ashli prior to being able to see her hands and prior to knowing if she was carrying any kind of weapon. He did not even know she was a female when he fired and he certainly could not assess her intentions.
America sorely needed to watch a trial for Ashli, but it’s not going happen. According to witnesses, exactly as the plaintiffs had claimed, her hands were empty, up in the air, and in plain sight of officers in the lobby. At the moment she was struck, witnesses at the scene cried out, “You just murdered her.” She fell dead on the spot.
Official and Unofficial Words
Multiple witnesses, including an armed police officer, confirmed that Lt. Byrd was completely out of Ashli’s field of vision, far to the left of her. Byrd could not have been a target of any potential aggression on her part even if she had been armed.
Sergeant Timothy Lively, one of the Capitol officers in the immediate vicinity, said, “I saw him... there was no way that that woman would have seen him.” Lt. Byrd was not in uniform and had not identified himself as an officer. Also, before killing her, he did not make any commands or warnings that he was going to fire.
Lt. Byrd was not charged with any crime or otherwise disciplined. He suffered no official consequences as a result of his actions. Among some on the Left, he was accorded hero status. True to form, the fakestream media either downplayed the situation or sought to portray Ashli as a violent aggressor. She was not an aggressor in any manner.
Some outlets reported that she had a weapon. Others reported that she acted menacingly. Still others said that Lt. Byrd was in grave jeopardy. None of the above is true.
Closure? Not Really
As routinely happens, the manipulation of the truth by the fakestream media made the incident more controversial than it actually was. Ashli was unarmed, not violent, and simply not a threat.
A trial for Ashli Babbitt would have illuminated many events of J6. The plaintiffs were going to explain that she did not proceed to the U.S. Capitol “as part of a group or for any unlawful or nefarious purpose.” They also could have dispelled the claim that Lt. Byrd "potentially saved members and staff from serious injury and possible death...”
As a nation, despite the dominating fakestream media, we could have attained some sense of closure via a jury trial regarding this tragic fatality. In 24-hour-news-cycle America, with the lawsuit already settled, Ashli’s fate might as well be ancient history.
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