(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Just within a minute after he murdered Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6, 2021, with his gun, U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd broadcasted a radio report, in which he lied by saying that shots were being fired at him in the Speaker’s Lobby and he was “prepared to fire back.”
The previously undisclosed radio dispatch is also contained on an audio recording that was obtained by the Epoch Times of the “OPS2” dispatch channel used by Capitol Police on Jan. 6, 2021.
Just before 2:43 p.m., an unknown Capitol Police officer first reported shots fired in the U.S. House, which was followed by Byrd announcing that shots were fired, the audio recording revealed. It was eventually discovered that both reports turned out to be unfounded.
“405-B. We got shots fired in the lobby. We got fot (sic), shots fired in the lobby of the House chamber. Shots are being fired at us, and we’re prepared to fire back at them. We have guns drawn. [Unintelligible] Don’t leave that end! Don’t leave that end!” Byrd said.
A federal lawsuit filed on Jan. 5, 2024, by Ms. Babbitt’s widower, Aaron Babbitt, contained information on the recording.
“Lt. Byrd erroneously believed and acted on a false radio call and/or false report of shots fired on the House floor occurring before he left the House floor and moved across the Speaker’s Lobby to the adjacent Retiring Room. A reasonably prudent officer in Lt. Byrd’s position would have been aware that, in fact, the report was false and the sound heard on the House floor was glass breaking, not shots fired,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit then highlighted that Byrd murdered Babbitt and never faced any consequences.
“The facts speak truth. Ashli was ambushed when she was shot by Lt. Byrd. Multiple witnesses at the scene yelled, ‘You just murdered her.’ Lt. Byrd was never charged or otherwise punished or disciplined for Ashli’s homicide,” the suit said.
