(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Justice Department has agreed to pay several million dollars to the family of Ashli Babbitt, the beloved veteran and MAGA activist killed inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Babbit’s husband, Aaron, and her family will receive $5 million, according to The Washington Post.
Judicial Watch, the renewed conservative nonprofit, filed the wrongful death suit on behalf of the family and initially sought $30 million.
Babbitt was the only person killed during the events of Jan. 6, when thousands of Americans peacefully protested the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
REPORTER: “Will you pardon anyone who attacked an officer on Jan. 6th, 2021?”
TRUMP: “The only one who was killed was a young lady. Her name was Ashli Babbitt.”
Great answer. President Trump is rejecting the legacy media’s garbage narrative on J6. pic.twitter.com/duSiATYVGK
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 7, 2025
She was fatally shot by U.S. Capitol Police officer Michael Byrd as she tried to climb through a door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby.
“The only homicide on January 6 was the unlawful shooting death of Ashli Babbitt. Her homicide by Lt. Byrd is a scandal beyond belief,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a press statement on Jan. 5, 2024.
“This historic lawsuit seeks a measure of justice and government accountability for Ashli’s wrongful death,” he added.
Despite calls for justice, the Biden administration cleared Byrd of wrongdoing, ruling that he did not use excessive force warranted by the circumstances.
The settlement follows President Donald Trump’s promise on the campaign trail to revisit Babbitt’s death.
“I’m a big fan of Ashli Babbitt,” Trump told Newsmax. “Ashli Babbitt was a really good person who was a big MAGA fan, Trump fan, and she was innocently standing there – they even say, trying to sort of hold back the crowd.”
“And a man did something unthinkable to her when he shot her, and I think it’s a disgrace. I’m going to look into that; I did not know that.”
President Trump: "I am a big fan of Ashli Babbitt, and Ashli Babbitt was a really good person… She was innocently standing there… and a man did something to her that was unthinkable when he shot her and I think it's a disgrace. I am going to look into that." pic.twitter.com/764aC0J3xk
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) March 26, 2025
