The Air Force offered full military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was fatally shot by police as she stormed the U.S. Capitol during on Jan. 6 four years ago, officials said Thursday.
Babbitt, 35, was an Air Force veteran who had come to Washington to protest then-President Donald Trump’s election defeat, her family has said, and was among rioters seeking to break into the House chamber.
And as Babbitt tried to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby, U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd fired one fatal shot at her.
Although Byrd was cleared of wrongdoing by the Justice Department and Capitol Police, Babbitt’s death has remained rightwing rallying call that’s cast her as a martyr.
“After reviewing the circumstances of SrA Babbitt’s death, the Air Force has offered Military Funeral Honors to SrA Babbitt’s family,” an Air Force spokesperson said.
The conservative legal group Judicial Watch had long been pushing for Babbitt to receive full military funeral honors and pushed the narrative that she was a victim of government misconduct.
“Ashli Babbitt’s patriotic and courageous service in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard also merits favorable action on this request,” the group wrote in a post on Wednesday, announcing the Air Force’s decision.
Babbitt was a prolific social media user who embraced conspiracy theories.
She believed in pizzagate, a viral disinformation campaign that falsely alleged a child abuse ring was being operated by Democrats from a Washington pizza restaurant, and embraced QAnon, the convoluted conspiracy movement baselessly claiming — among other things — that Trump was secretly fighting an international cabal of criminals and pedophiles.
Babbitt’s estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government in early 2024. Then, after Trump won the White House in November, his administration reached a $5 million deal to settle the civil complaint.
A representative for Babbitt’s family could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday.
Janhvi Bhojwani contributed.
