The family of Ashli Babbitt, the Ocean Beach woman who was shot and killed during the U.S. Capitol breach on Jan. 6, 2021, has settled its wrongful-death lawsuit with the federal government for nearly $5 million.
The settlement resolves the suit brought by Babbitt family’s and conservative advocacy group Judicial Watch, which had sought $30 million and alleged that the 35-year-old Air Force veteran was “ambushed” by the U.S. Capitol Police officer who shot her without “any warnings or commands.”
The lawsuit had been set for trial next year.
Court filings indicate a settlement was reached but do not mention the monetary figure reported by multiple media outlets, which cited unidentified sources familiar with the settlement proceedings.
As protesters attempted to stop the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election, Babbitt was climbing through the broken window of a barricaded door to the Speaker’s Lobby when she was shot. The Department of Justice did not pursue criminal charges against Lt. Michael Byrd, the officer who shot her, while Capitol Police said he would not face internal discipline.
According to the complaint, Babbitt attended then-President Donald Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, then “like a great many other patriotic Americans attending the rally, walked to the Capitol peacefully.”
The complaint states “Ashli did not go to Washington as part of a group or for any unlawful or nefarious purpose” and “was there to exercise what she believed were her God-given American liberties and freedoms.”
The lawsuit states Babbitt was unarmed when she shot and “posed no threat to the safety of anyone.”
According to the complaint, Byrd was not in uniform and did not identify himself as a police officer before he opened fire. The lawsuit also alleges that no of Congress were in the Speaker’s Lobby at the time and that the area was guarded by multiple armed police officers.
In a television interview in August 2021, Byrd told NBC News that he pulled the trigger as a “last resort.”
“I tried to wait as long as I could,” Byrd said. “I hoped and prayed no one tried to enter through those doors. But their failure to comply required me to take the appropriate action to save the lives of of Congress and myself and my fellow officers.”
In March, Trump, who was elected president again last November, told Newsmax it was “a disgrace” that Byrd was cleared of wrongdoing and remained with the Capitol Police Department.
Trump also referred to himself as “a big fan of Ashli Babbitt,” saying “she was innocently standing there” when she was shot.
CNN quoted Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger as saying he was “extremely disappointed … with this settlement.”
“In 2021, the DOJ investigation determined no wrongdoing by police,” Manger said. “This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement nationwide, especially to those with a protective mission like ours.”
— Point Loma-OB Monthly staff contributed to this report.
