The Trump administration will pay nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a supporter of the president who was fatally shot by police when she tried to storm the House Speaker’s Lobby during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, according to multiple reports.
After settling with the family earlier this month, the Justice Department agreed Monday to pay a principal of just under $5 million to Babbitt’s estate, which was originally seeking $30 million, the Washington Post reported.
Outgoing US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said he was dismayed at the decision to settle the lawsuit, as more than 140 officers were assaulted in the violent riot protesting President Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
“I told them I was extremely disappointed, and I disagreed with the Department of Justice’s decision to settle this lawsuit,” Manger told his department after learning of the settlement.
“In 2021, the DOJ said that there was no evidence to show that law enforcement broke the law. After a thorough investigation, it was determined to be a justified shooting,” he added.
“This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement officers across our nation — especially those who have a protective mission like ours.”
US Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd shot the unarmed Babbitt, 35, as she attempted to climb through a broken window of a barricaded door within the Capitol Building during the riot.
Babbitt was attempting, with hundreds of other Trump supporters, to enter the Speaker’s Lobby of the Capitol Building as some members of Congress were being evacuated.
Only one shot was fired, hitting Babbitt, a US Air Force veteran, in the shoulder. She was transported from the riot to Washington Hospital Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Babbitt’s family accused Byrd of negligence and failing to “de-escalate” the situation, claiming that “Ashli posed no threat to the safety of anyone.”
Byrd was cleared of any wrongdoing after an internal investigation by the US Capitol Police, which found he acted in self-defense and in the defense of members of Congress.
Byrd’s lawyer, Mark Schamel, maintains that his client followed orders to protect the Capitol and lawmakers when the mob appeared before him.
“Consistent with the most recent ruling by the Supreme Court on the use of force by officers, Lieutenant Byrd did exactly what he was supposed to have done that day to protect the elected officials he was sworn to protect,” Schamel told WaPo.
The settlement comes after Trump has repeatedly called for leniency against the Jan. 6 rioters, with the president often referring to Babbitt as a hero.
On the day of his inauguration, Trump issued a blanket pardon for more than 1,500 Capitol riot defendants, with his DOJ later firing the prosecutors who handled the Jan. 6 case.
The administration has also called for the identification of the FBI agents involved with investigating the riot, as well as the erasure of evidence and public statements of the cases from the Justice Department websites.
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