The estate of Ashli Babbitt, the protester shot and killed on January 6 during the Capitol riot, has filed a $30 million lawsuit against the Biden administration, alleging wrongful death.
As reported by the Conservative Brief on Saturday, January 6, 2024 the lawsuit, brought by the legal watchdog organization Judicial Watch on behalf of Aaron Babbitt, Ashli’s husband, asserts that the Capitol Police officer who shot her, identified as Lt. Michael Byrd, was “incompetent” and “dangerous.”
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton stated, “The only homicide on January 6 was the unlawful shooting death of Ashli Babbitt. Her homicide by Lt. Byrd is a scandal beyond belief. This historic lawsuit seeks a measure of justice and government accountability for Ashli’s wrongful death.”
The lawsuit contends that Lt. Byrd, who was cleared of wrongdoing by the Biden Justice Department after an investigation, should have recognized that Ashli posed no threat when she entered the House speaker’s lobby. It points to Byrd’s alleged history of mishandling firearms, including leaving his gun in a public bathroom and firing into a car believed to be stolen.
A recently released video, timestamped and provided by a group connected to a Jan. 6 suspect, shows a new angle of the shooting. In the video, Ashli Babbitt is seen being pushed into the speaker’s lobby unarmed when Lt. Byrd raises his gun. After being shot, she falls back, bleeding from the shoulder and neck.
The lawsuit seeks $30 million from the federal government, asserting that Ashli suffered tremendously after being shot. It describes her remaining conscious for minutes, experiencing extreme pain, suffering, mental anguish, and intense fear before slipping into pre-terminal unconsciousness. The autopsy report identified the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the left anterior shoulder.
The suit challenges the official account, claiming that nothing about the wound track described in the autopsy report would be expected to result in immediate death or instantaneous loss of consciousness. The lawsuit emphasizes that Ashli’s lungs contained blood, confirming she was alive and breathing after being shot.
The legal action further outlines Ashli Babbitt’s journey to Washington, D.C., from Southern California to attend a rally featuring then-President Donald Trump. After the event, she walked to the Capitol, entered via the Senate side, and was directed to the House chamber by another Capitol Police officer.
The lawsuit details the events leading to the shooting, emphasizing that Lt. Byrd, as the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashli as she raised herself into the opening of the right door sidelight. It alleges that Ashli could not have seen Lt. Byrd, positioned far to her left, and he did not identify himself as a police officer or provide any warnings before firing.
This legal action adds another layer to the ongoing discussions surrounding the events of January 6, raising questions about the use of force and the accountability of law enforcement officers during the Capitol riot.
