(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The FBI released a set of documents on its investigation of the death of Ashli Babbitt, the protestor shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer on Jan. 6, 2021.
The 69 pages of documents, released by the FBI on Monday, are heavily redacted and don’t appear to reveal much new information. They do show that the FBI received numerous tips from the public. One document is also labelled as “protect identity,” which is used when the FBI wants to conceal the identity of a confidential human source, or CHS.
The most revealing documents appears to be an interview the FBI conducted with someone who knew Babbitt from her days in the Air Force. That person “characterized Babbitt as very outgoing, opinionated, loud, very intelligent, loyal, sweet, very loving and caring,” the FBI memo of that interview said.
“At times, Babbitt was not a fan of her chain of command and made her views known. Babbitt was a leader rather than a follower and liked being her own boss,” the FBI record said.
Babbitt’s military friend also told the FBI that she was not a violent person and should not have been shot.
“[REDACTED] judged that she likely did not know the risk of passing through the window,” the FBI record said. “Babbitt would never ‘go after someone physically,’ according to [REDACTED].”
Additionally, the person told the FBI that they were frustrated by the media painting Babbitt as being associated with white nationalists, which wasn’t accurate.
The FBI’s release of the Babbitt file comes as it continues to litigate a Freedom of INforamtion Act lawsuit from Judicial Watch over Babbitt records.
“Ashli Babbitt was the only homicide victim on January 6, yet the FBI has been illicitly hiding its files on Ashli Babbitt from her family for a year,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton has said of the situation. “Why the cover-up?”
Babbitt, a 14-year Air Force veteran, was shot and killed by Lt. Michael Byrd while crawling through a window in the Capitol building during the Jan. 6 protests.
Byrd has claimed that he acted with “the utmost courage” and “saved countless lives.”
However, earlier records obtained by Judicial Watch found that other officers at the scene did not see a weapon in Babbitt’s hands prior to the shooting and that they did not hear Byrd issue any verbal commands prior to the shooting. Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashli before seeing her hands or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female.
The Capitol Police is also facing a wrongful-death lawsuit over Babbitt’s death.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
