Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, who was murdered during the Jan. 6 uprising at the US Capitol, was denied a military funeral earlier this year, the Conservative Brief reported.
Babbitt was shot and killed by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd when she was attempting to crawl through a broken window leading to the House Speaker’s Lobby.
She should have been buried with full military honors “because she loved her country enough that she would have died for it,” according to her mother, Micki Witthoeft.
“I think the military disrespected her,” Witthoeft told John Tabacco on a recent episode of Wise Guys.
“We had some proud patriots who did a flag service for her and played taps, and it was a beautiful service,” Witthoeft continued, “but to be told by the Air Force that she didn’t qualify for participating in Jan. 6—that was a slap in the face.”
She went on to discuss the events of Jan. 6, as well as her daughter’s life and death.
“She was a brave, quintessential American woman, independent, pragmatic—you know, if there was a problem in front of her she was going to solve it,” Witthoeft said.
She also “answered the call for her country several times,” serving four tours in the Middle East.
Witthoeft recounted the arduous process of trying to uncover the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death, saying that there has been no cooperation from anyone who may have answers.
After being brushed off by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—both California Democrats—Witthoeft attempted to get answers through the Justice Department.
However, there has been no response from them either.
