The Trump administration has agreed to pay nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, the Trump supporter fatally shot by Capitol Police during the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. The tentative settlement resolves a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by her estate earlier this year, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, was shot while attempting to breach the House Speaker’s Lobby near lawmakers evacuating during the certification of Trump’s 2020 election loss. Investigations by the Justice Department and Capitol Police cleared the officer, Lt. Michael Byrd, citing threats to lawmakers’ safety.
The lawsuit claimed Babbitt was unarmed, had her hands up, and posed no threat. The DOJ initially opposed the suit, but under Trump’s second term, reversed its position. A third of the payout will reportedly go to her attorneys, including Judicial Watch.
Trump has portrayed Babbitt as a martyr and issued pardons to hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters, while his administration works to erase DOJ records of the probe.
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