The Justice Department is discussing giving the relatives of Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran killed by the police during the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, about $5 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit they brought against the government last year, according to two people familiar with the matter.
But the people cautioned that the negotiations, which have largely taken place since President Trump took office, have not yet been finalized.
A tentative settlement agreement was announced at a hearing this month in Federal District Court in Washington, but lawyers for the Justice Department and Ms. Babbitt’s family did not mention an amount at the time. In its initial complaint, filed in January 2024 during the Biden administration, the family had asked for $30 million.
Still, the payment of about $5 million, if approved, would represent an extraordinary concession by the Justice Department, which prosecuted nearly 1,600 people in connection with the riot. It would also serve as another symbol of the vocal support that Mr. Trump has long shown to those who took part in the Capitol attack, joining efforts like the sprawling grants of clemency he gave the rioters on his first day back in office.
Ms. Babbitt, a fervent Trump supporter and believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory, was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer, Michael Byrd, while she was in a crowd that was trying to break into an area outside the House floor known as the Speaker’s Lobby. After a three-month investigation, prosecutors decided not to pursue criminal charges against Officer Byrd.
Ms. Babbitt’s family may not be the only people connected to Jan. 6 to eventually receive money.
In March, Mr. Trump said that he was considering establishing a compensation fund for pardoned rioters during an interview with the conservative television station Newsmax.
Asked whether he might authorize restitution payments to Jan. 6 defendants because they had lost wages and other opportunities while they were being prosecuted, Mr. Trump said “there’s a lot of talk about that,” adding that “people in government really liked that group of people.”
“They were patriots as far as I was concerned,” Mr. Trump said. “I talk about them a lot. They were treated very unfairly.”
Lawyers close to Mr. Trump have also said they are preparing to sue the government on behalf of the rioters, claiming the rioters had been mistreated by federal agencies like the Justice Department and the Bureau of Prisons.
While the suit has not yet been filed, it could result in a settlement agreement not unlike the one reached between the Justice Department and Ms. Babbitt’s family.
Alan Feuer covers extremism and political violence for The Times, focusing on the criminal cases involving the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and against former President Donald J. Trump.
Devlin Barrett covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The Times.
Glenn Thrush covers the Department of Justice for The Times and has also written about gun violence, civil rights and conditions in the country’s jails and prisons.
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