Rep. Jason Crow, one of several lawmakers forced to take cover during the Jan. 6 insurrection, harshly criticized the Trump administration’s payout of millions to the family of Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt.
On CNN Monday, the Colorado Democrat said the government’s $5 million settlement in the Babbitt family’s wrongful death lawsuit was another example of the president trying to “rewrite history.”
“He doesn‘t want to acknowledge that he weaponized a mob and sent that mob to attack the Capitol to brutalize hundreds of officers, 140 of whom still have major injuries, five of whom died from their wounds and their trauma,” Crow told The Lead anchor Jake Tapper.
“We passed a bipartisan bill in 2022 to erect a plaque in honor of those officers. House Republicans and the speaker have refused to put that plaque up because they want to sweep it all under the rug,” Crow continued.
“We can‘t allow that to happen. And this is just part of that, right? They want to ignore that entire part of history because it‘s inconvenient to Donald Trump. And that includes pardoning hundreds and hundreds of violent felons who beat police officers, and sending them back out on our streets.”
Crow, a U.S. Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and earned the Bronze Star Medal, was photographed on Jan. 6 comforting fellow lawmaker Rep. Susan Wild above the House floor as Trump’s supporters tried to force their way inside.
Babbitt was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer while trying to get into the House Speaker’s lobby. Despite multiple investigations finding no wrongdoing by the officer, Trump and some of his allies have insisted that Babbitt’s death warranted prosecution.
Last January, Babbitt’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking $30 million. In early May, the two sides agreed in principle to a settlement—a reversal of the Justice Department’s stance on the matter.
According to The Washington Post, about one-third of the settlement will go to the Babbitt family’s attorneys, which include the conservative group Judicial Watch.
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