A federal judge has ordered Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) to respond to wrongful death charges from the family of Ashli Babbitt.
Babbitt is the 35-year-old Air Force Veteran who was shot dead by a Capitol Police officer on January 6th, 2021.
She was the only person who died during the Jan. 6 protests at the U.S. Capitol.
Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, gave the DOJ until September 6 to answer charges of assault and battery, negligence, and wrongful death in the $30 million case.
The officer who killed Babbitt, Michael Byrd, was not charged by the DOJ.
Byrd has faced no disciplinary action from Capitol Police.
He fatally shot Babbitt, who was unarmed, as she attempted to enter the Speaker’s Lobby through a shattered glass window.
The Judicial Watch lawsuit accuses Byrd of causing Babbitt’s wrongful death through negligence.
This included failing to warn Babbitt, making a careless assessment of the threat she posed, and not providing timely medical care after shooting her.
Byrd would later admit that he shot Babbitt without seeing her hands “or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female,” the lawsuit states.
“A reasonably prudent officer in Lt. Byrd’s position would have been aware that, in fact, Ashli was unarmed, small in stature, and did not pose a threat of imminent death or serious physical injury to Lt. Byrd or anyone else by merely climbing through the window,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also points to negligent supervision and training from Capitol Police.
It notes that Byrd was known to “behave in a dangerous or otherwise incompetent manner.”
His behavior was noted after he left his loaded gun – the same one that he used to kill Babbitt – unattended in a Capitol bathroom used by visitors.
The Biden DOJ had the case moved from San Diego to Washington D.C.
The D.C. court system has proven highly favorable to the DOJ in its Jan. 6 cases.
Judge Reyes told Judicial Watch to file a brief supporting its motion to send the case back to San Diego, where Babbitt’s husband lives.
Months after Babbitt was killed, the Justice Department cleared Byrd of criminal wrongdoing without interviewing him.
The Capitol Police likewise determined he acted appropriately.
“Ashli Babbitt and her family deserve accountability and justice for her wrongful death on January 6,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
“In short, there was no good reason for Lt. Byrd to ambush and shoot her.
“But the Biden Justice Department, rather than admit government wrongdoing, is doing its best try to ensure Ashli never gets her full day in court.”
