Slain Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt’s surviving relatives are reportedly set to receive a $5 million payment to settle their wrongful death suit against the federal government.
Justice Department officials and Babbitt’s lawyers agreed to the huge payment to resolve a $30 million suit that blamed Capitol Police for shooting Babbitt dead as she and fellow attackers tried to break into a room where congressional lawmakers were sheltering.
The planned $5 million payout was first reported by the Washington Post on Monday.
The Trump administration and lawyers for Babbitt’s estate told a federal judge earlier this month that they had reached a settlement in principle but the details were still being worked out. The final agreement has reportedly not yet been signed.
The windfall for Babbitt’s estate marks a remarkable turnaround for the family of the 35-year-old Air Force veteran who was killed during the violent attack by thousands of Trump supporters seeking to block Congress from certifying former President Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd, who fired the shot that killed Babbitt, was cleared of all liability by federal prosecutors and an internal Capitol Police investigation.
The probes said Byrd acted in self-defense and credited him with helping to protect lawmakers during the chaotic rampage by rioters including Babbitt, who was not armed.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger denounced the $5 million deal, saying he was “extremely disappointed and disagree with (it).”
“This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement nationwide, especially to those with a protective mission like ours,” Manger said.
Babbitt and thousands of Trump supporters joined the Jan. 6 attack after the once-and-future president told them to “fight like hell” to overturn his election loss in a fiery speech.
The mob overwhelmed outnumbered police and broke into the Capitol to hunt down perceived enemies of Trump, including ex-Vice President Mike Pence and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Babbitt and several other rioters sought to break through the barricaded House chamber where lawmakers from both parties cowered in fear for their lives when Byrd shot her.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd helps to direct the evacuation as the House chamber comes under attack by a mob on Jan. 6, 2021. Minutes later, Lt. Byrd fatally shot protester Ashli Babbitt as she and other rioters were breaking into the Speaker’s Lobby where members of Congress were retreating. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Still, Babbitt’s lawyers claimed she was the real victim. She filed the suit last year with the aid of right-wing judicial groups.
“Ashli posed no threat to the safety of anyone,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit claimed Byrd, who was not in uniform, failed to deescalate the situation and did not give her any warnings or commands before opening fire.
In the years after the attack, Trump lionized the Jan. 6 attackers and praised Babbitt as a martyr to his MAGA cause.
He pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or ordered the dismissal of all of the cases of the more than 1,500-plus people charged with crimes related to Jan. 6, including white nationalists convicted of plotting the attack.
“Ashli Babbitt was a really good person who … was innocently standing there… when [Byrd] shot her,” Trump said in March. “I think it’s a disgrace.”
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