Police shot Babbitt, 35, a military veteran and Trump supporter
Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed by police during the storming of the US Capitol by pro-Donald Trump supporters, Babbitt was a 14-year veteran of the US Air Force and of four foreign military tours, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ashli Babbitt, 35, had traveled to Washington DC from San Diego, her husband told the local news station that she was a passionate Trump supporter.
Three other people died from “medical emergencies” during Wednesday’s protest at the Capitol, according to the Washington DC police chief, Robert Contee.
Contee has confirmed to reporters a woman was shot by Capitol police – a federal law enforcement agency responsible for protecting the US Congress – but has not released further details.
Less than a day before she joined the Trump protest, Babbitt, an avowed and public Trump supporter stated. “Nothing will stop us … they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours … dark to light!” she wrote on Twitter.
Babbitt, 35, was reportedly shot as she and other unarmed protesters tried to break through a barricaded door in the building where Capitol police officers were armed on the other side.
On video footage circulating on social media, a single gunshot is heard during an attempt to storm the barricaded door. Other footage shows police attempting to perform emergency first aid on a woman lying on the floor bleeding.
Babbitt was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound but later pronounced dead.
Tweeting under the handle @CommonAshSense, Babbitt described herself as a veteran and a libertarian. Her social media account is filled with declarations of support for Trump and condemnation of November’s presidential election.
She had also called on the vice-president, Mike Pence – who has split with Trump in refusing to oppose the certification of Joe Biden’s election win – to resign and face charges of treason.
Babbitt’s mother-in-law, Robin Babbitt, told the New York Post: “I’m numb. I’m devastated. Nobody from DC notified my son and we found out on TV.”
Everything is “pretty surreal”, Babbitt’s brother-in-law Justin was quoted as saying. “It’s hard, because we haven’t been officially notified.”