The family of Ashli Babbitt, the San Diego woman who was shot and killed during the Jan. 6 2021, U. S. Capitol breach, has filed a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit in Federal Court against the U.S. government.
The lawsuit alleges that Babbitt, who was 35-years-old and an Air Force veteran, was ``ambushed'' by the u.s. capitol police officer who shot her without ``any warnings or commands.''
Babbitt was climbing through the broken window of a barricaded door to the speaker's lobby when she was shot. The Department of Justice did not pursue criminal charges against Michael Byrd, the officer who shot her, and Capitol Police said he would not face internal discipline.
The lawsuit, filed Friday just before the three-year anniversary of the attack, says Babbitt attended then-president Donald Trump's rally on Jan. 6, and then ``like a great many other patriotic americans attending the rally, walked to the capitol peacefully.''
The suit states that ``Ashli did not go to Washington as part of a group or for any efarious purpose'' and that "she was there to exercise what she believed were her God-given, American liberties and freedoms.''
The lawsuit also states that when Babbitt was shot, she was unarmed and ``posed no threat to the safety of anyone.''
According to the complaint, Officer Byrd was not in uniform and did not identify himself as a police officer before he opened fire. The lawsuit also alleges no members of Congress were in the speaker's lobby at the time and that the area was guarded by multiple armed police officers.
In an August 2021 television interview, Byrd told NBC News that he pulled the trigger as a ``last resort.'' During the interview, Byrd said, ``I tried to wait as long as I could. I hoped and prayed no one tried to enter through those doors. But their failure to comply required me to take the appropriate action to save the lives of members of Congress and myself and my fellow officers.''
(Photo Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 25: A right wing protester holds a sign about Ashli Babbitt while participating in a political rally on July 25, 2021 in New York City. Protesters were demanding a release of the people who were arrested on January 6th for their involv