Family of Ashli Babbitt files $40M lawsuit over Jan. 6 shooting death

The family of Ashli Babbitt, the woman who was shot and killed by an officer during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, has filed a US$30-million (over C$40.1 million) lawsuit against the American government.

The lawsuit, which was filed by Ashli’s husband and nonprofit American conservative group Judicial Watch in the U.S. District Court Southern District of California on Friday, has accused the U.S. government of wrongful death, assault and battery and negligence. Ashli’s husband, Aaron Babbitt, is the executor of her estate.

Ashli, 35, was fatally shot on Jan. 6, 2021, when she and at least 2,000 others stormed the U.S. Capitol building. The mob attempted to disrupt the congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s election win, fuelled by false claims that the election was stolen from then-president Donald Trump.

Ashli, a California resident, was shot by Lt. Michael Byrd while she tried to climb into the Speaker’s Lobby outside the House Chamber through a broken window of a barricaded door.

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Ashli’s family, through their lawyers, is now arguing that Byrd used excessive force.

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Capitol Police have not commented publicly on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims Ashli “did not go to Washington as part of a group or for any unlawful or nefarious purpose.” Instead, the legal filing alleges the woman was there to assert “what she believed were her God-given, American liberties and freedoms.”

The lawsuit filed by Ashli’s family came on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack. It was filed by lawyers from Judicial Watch, a non-profit, conservative activist group that seeks to investigate governmental misconduct.

“Ashli loved her country and wanted to show her support for President Trump’s America First policies and to see and hear the president speak live while he remained in office,” Judicial Watch said in a statement posted to its website, echoing the lawsuit. “Ashli did not go to Washington as part of a group or for any unlawful or nefarious purpose.”

The filing said Ashli, who was unarmed, walked “peacefully” to the Capitol “with many other patriotic Americans.” Once inside the Capitol, the lawsuit alleges Ashli complied with a female officer who directed her to walk south toward the House side.

The lawsuit says Ashli was “ambushed” by Byrd, who was not in uniform, as she attempted to climb through the barricaded door. The filing alleged Ashli’s hands were in the air prior to being shot, but that Byrd did not see them, assess her intentions or identify himself as an officer before opening fire.

However, federal authorities have maintained that Ashli’s civil rights were never violated, and that Byrd fired the fatal shot in self-defence or in defence of members of Congress.

Capitol Police said Byrd did not violate policy. In a 2021 statement, the police body said Byrd “potentially saved members and staff from serious injury and possible death.”

Byrd himself said he “saved countless lives” during the riot.

“Her homicide by Lt. Byrd is a scandal beyond belief,” said Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch. “This historic lawsuit seeks a measure of justice and government accountability for Ashli’s wrongful death.”

Official autopsy results said Ashli died of a “gunshot wound to left anterior shoulder.”

Ashli, an Air Force veteran, is one of five people who died as a result of the Jan. 6 attack. Her death, which was captured on camera, has become a rallying cry for Trump supporters who still maintain that Biden’s election win was stolen. Trump himself called Ashli a “great patriot.”

So far, more than 1,240 people have been arrested in connection with the riot, with more than 700 pleading guilty. Many of the people who stormed the Capitol have been accused of crimes including misdemeanour trespassing and seditious conspiracy, which is a felony.

On Friday, the same day as the lawsuit was filed, Ashli’s mother was arrested in Washington after she refused to leave the street during a demonstration for the two-year anniversary of Jan. 6, police said.